Blue Moon
by PsychoPhoenix38
Summary: 6 years after Breaking Dawn, the Cullens must deal with finding a new life in high school and to have Renesmee to join them. The Volturi, however, have different plans of how the future will play out. All characters. Multiple perspectives. Now Complete!
1. Return

Chapter 1

I couldn't begin to explain how much the possibility of going to high school for the second time would be. My last high school experience was far from ordinary, only this time it will be a lot stranger.

My first high school experience is one I will never forget. I was plain and ordinary, nothing spectacular to anybody and not worth remembering. That is until I moved to Forks, Washington to live with my father. The first day of school was nerve wracking because I didn't know anybody and having to go to a new school in the middle of the year was bad enough. I wasn't a people person and I did not have the best memory in the world. However, as dull as I was, everybody was drawn to me, much to my dismay. I was in the cafeteria, looking around, remembering faces but no names. Then, there he was. The most gorgeous and interesting man I had ever seen. His name was Edward Cullen, as the girl next to me told me. Then there were Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, his adoptive family from what I understood. When she said Edward's name I knew he would be in my life forever.

Forever now has a new meaning entirely but forever is still forever. High school, again, huge drag and I was enrolled at the new school by my maiden name of Isabella Swan. It was going to be hard enough to find an alibi that would work for me and my daughter Renesmee. Yeah I said daughter. She was almost fully grown to the age of 17, the same age as my husband Edward. I was 18, forever.

Edward, Renesmee and myself were driving to the Cullen house in Forks, Washington from New Hampshire. We just put the final touches on the selling of our house so we were fully ready to move back to the Cullen's. I just finished my Bachelor's degree in Business, finishing 2nd in my class at Dartmouth. It's amazing how well you do in school when you didn't need to sleep. Renesmee is the only one that does sleep, being that's she's half-human and half-vampire.

When we pulled into the driveway, leading up the dirt path through the forest. We were so close to seeing the family that we all had missed tremendously when we were in New Hampshire. Back to the house in Forks, preparing for the next step for the family. We had 3 months to get the charade together and then we would be off to our next location. It's the first time that all of us had been together since the almost battle that had happened with the Volturi, almost 5 years ago, to protect my daughter.

I looked into the backseat and saw her. The perfect mix of Edward's perfect face and myself, I smiled at her.  
She touched my shoulder. "Don't be worried momma," she thought. Pictures of our family; Carlisle, my sweet compassionate father in law, Esme, my beautiful caring mother in law that treated me like a daughter, Alice, the eccentric vampire with style and grace like no other being able to see the future. Then her husband Jasper, the quiet, soft spoken man that could change the emotions in the room without even trying. Rosalie, the most beautiful woman in the world who was the only one that was siding with me when I first found out I was pregnant with Renesmee. And then her husband Emmett, the biggest of the Cullens and the jokester of the clan, always competitive and challenging anybody to anything. I smiled towards the thought of seeing them again. I was so lucky to have such a great daughter. Everyone was waiting outside for us when we got there. Edward pulled the silver Volvo S60R into the garage, into the spot where it usually sat, just were it belonged. I knew that he wanted to get rid of it because it was getting old but it was too practical to just get rid of it. The obsession that he had with cars had rubbed off, unfortunately, onto Renesmee.

Alice was the first to greet us as she danced her way to the car. I got out of the car and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Bella, I've missed you."  
"I've missed you too."

"I'm so so sorry that I missed you graduating from college. I promise I will be there next time."  
"Well next time it won't be business."  
"Not a keeper."  
"No not at all. The only thing that I could do right about now is keep track of your finances and do taxes. Maybe…" I trailed off as Esme came up behind her. I smiled wide and pulled her in close to me. I missed her hugs, always filled with love and compassion. As I stepped away from her, I was gracefully thrown into the air from behind and then placed over a bulky shoulder.

"Hey big bro," I said knowing it was Emmett. "Time for a rematch."  
"A rematch ye."  
"Yeah a rematch. I really need to stretch out my legs." He put me down on the ground and I squatted to the ground and back up again shaking my legs out.

"A race to the cottage and back then."  
I nodded.

"All ready you two," Esme said disappointed. "Bella you just got here."

Emmett and I were already lined up at the edge of the garage. Nessie was standing in-between us with a red clothe.

"There's no helping it Esme," Edward said touching her shoulder. "She's been talking about this since the minute that we hit the Washington border."  
Renesmee raised the piece of red cloth into the air. The anticipation grew in my legs, trembeling, waiting. I tried not to get distracted by the stitching of the cloth. I was still amazed by my vision. As she threw the cloth to the ground I was off at the speed of light. Emmett and myself were equally matched for the most part. He was of course stronger than I was but for what I lacked in strength I made up with speed. I was still faster than he was, especially when I put my mind towards it. It seemed like only a minute passed and we were at my cottage. The one that Esme had given me as a birthday present for my family of 3 to live in just shortly after Nessie was born. I didn't get too wrapped up in the memories that existed there, otherwise I would lose. There was, however, one thing that I had a definite advantage over Emmett with. I could certainly jump a lot further than he could. Which came in handy when we reached the river. I didn't hesitate as I flung myself across it. I had only lost about 5 to 6 feet since I jumped it as a newborn. I had gotten to the garage and had to jump up onto the top of it to avoid destroying the Volvo. However, I think that Emmett and Edward were on the same page. Seconds after I landed I heard a huge crash. I jumped off and saw the Volvo destroyed beyond repair, with Emmett's body printed into the backseat where my daughter had been sitting not 5 minutes beforehand.

I went over to Emmett and punched him in the arm. "Come on big bro, must you encourage his car habit."  
"Sorry. It just looked so outdated."

I punched his arm again, only harder and went to Renesmee. Rosalie went over and caressed his arm.

"So lovely daughter of mine," I said putting my arm around her shoulder. "Who won?"

"You did, by a long shot. Uncle Emmett, I think you're getting old."

"One, no, I think you are. You're your mother's height now. And two, I just let your mother win so that I could see her face when the Volvo was destroyed."

I growled at him. "Well, too bad that was going to be her car." Emmett and Edward hit themselves in the head simultaneously. "If you too weren't so impacient about everything and about getting a new car then it would have been nice." Renesmee stood next to me still in shock.

"You're gonna let me start driving," she questioned looking up at me.

"Yeah I was going to talk to your dad about it tonight."

"Well it's not fair that because Daddy messes up I don't get a car."

"Think of it in the way that you are really only 6 and half years old. Then it won't be so disappointing."

"Good one daddy," she yelled at Edward and stomped away to the house. Edward looked dumbfounded.

"You didn't tell me," Edward whispered, sounding very disappointed in himself.

"I know," I said stepping next to him and putting my hand on his shoulder sympathetically. I whispered "I thought about it in the car but the girl never went to sleep. I thought it would be good for her to have a car of her own so that way she doesn't need to be with her parents all the time and we can have some more alone time. We didn't really get that much of a honeymoon because I got really pregnant really fast."

He smirked at the comments and it then seemed like that was all that was on his mind. "Well there has to be a good car for her that I think that we can both agree on.""

"You need to talk to her. Rosalie got a hold of her and not only does she like pretty cars but she also knows what's under the hood."

"She gets the style from me but the mechanics from Rosalie."

"We've got a one of a kind daughter."

"Yeah that now looks more like a sister than a daughter."

"Don't start that with me." The fact of how old my daughter already looked upset me and it was always a touchy subject with me. I looked around and saw Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper but no Carlisle. "Esme?"

"Yes darling?"

"Where's Carlisle?"

"He's umm," she hesitated. "He's taking care of some business."

Her face looked puzzled, like she didn't want to press the matter. I kind of figured out what she was talking about. It had been 4 years since we were in Forks. Edward, Renesmee and I had stayed a little over a year after the battle with the Volturi. I was too attached to my old life, not wanting to forget people or the memories that I had with them. I didn't exactly want to let it go yet. So many people that I didn't think that I couldn't live without. My father Charlie, my best friend Jacob, Seth and the list goes on. Every time I thought of my old life I wanted to cry. When Charlie had passed away it was really hard. My father, who I loved so much, was gone. I couldn't help him. I couldn't do anything at all. There was an asshole driver that didn't want to pull over for my dad. So it ended up in a high-speed car chase. With the roads so slippery from all the rain that we go, he lost control of the cop car. He was dead the moment that the car wrapped around the tree.

I had told my mother not to come. I didn't want her to find out about my secret, especially at a time like this. But of course, being my mother, she wanted to make sure that I was okay. I had expected both of my parents to be gone someday but this day was just way too soon to lose either of them. When Alice and Jasper picked her up at the airport, they knew that she was to console rather than to morn. When she came to the house, I was on the front porch waiting for her.

"Bella, you look…"

"Different. I know," I replied faint-heartedly. She then pulled me into a hug.

"And you're so cold. What's wrong with you sweetie?"

"That mysterious disease that I picked up while I was on my honeymoon forever lowered my body temperature a few degrees. I've actually gotten quite used to it."

"And you deep drown eyes, they're gone, they're golden."

"The new contacts that I got. My vision all of a sudden went all screwy. I don't know what happened. Probably the disease again."

"Are you lying to me? You know you don't lie well."

Thankfully Edward came up behind me and reintroduced himself and sent her his greatest sympathies. He was always so good with awkward situations. Renesmee was very carefully around Renee. She was referred to as Nessie as Edward's cousin who had come to stay with us for a while. I knew that I would need to tell her what I was eventually but today was not the day. Everyone who didn't know what I was was shocked by how composed I was at the funeral. Although I could not physically able to cry, inside it was tearing me apart. It could be compared to the way that a newborn felt towards human blood and needing to resist it. The emotions on the inside of my body felt worse than any physical pain in my human life. Except when Edward left me. It was on par with that feeling.

After seeing everyone again and talking for a little bit I went into the house to find Renesmee. I listened and heard a heartbeat upstairs. I followed it into Carlisle's study.

"What are you doing baby?"

"I'm just catching up on some reading." She looked really upset and it was one of the only times I had seen her like that. Two other times, specifically. Once when Charlie passed away and the other was when Edward and I had yanked her across country without even saying goodbye to Jacob. When I decided that I wanted to leave, we packed up our essential stuff into the Volvo and left. I knew that we would be able to get into Dartmouth and we had more than enough resources to buy a house and another car if needed. She was really upset to leave Jacob. She told me that he was nothing more than a friend but she didn't know that he had imprinted her as a child.

"Getting ready for school," I asked as I closed the door and perched myself up onto Carlisle's desk.

"I guess so. Nothing else to really do."

"Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah in a house full of vampires. I mind as well be speaking into a microphone."

"Do you want to go somewhere? Are you hungry?"

"No."

"Thirsty."

"No."

"Do you want to go shopping?"

"Really," she said excitedly.

"Yes but only if you talk to me."

"Deal. Can I drive?"

"No, not yet. You have to get your license the legal way."

"Can we talk about that?"

"Yes. Why don't you go and get ready? Borrow an outfit from Alice and I'll talk to your father."

"K."

She raced to Alice's room to raid her closet and probably to get some ideas. I swear she had a part of every Cullen family member. From Alice she got the love of clothes and fashion sense.

"That girl is amazing," I said to Edward walking towards our room.

"Yeah she is. You're taking her shopping?" I nodded. "But you hate shopping."

"Yeah but she loves it. But I figure that way we can talk about things. We don't do enough things, just her and I. I mean you get to talk to her about cars."

"I know."

"Question?"

"Alright."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him up out of the bed. I dragged him to the window and jumped out onto a tree and climbed up it, with him following. I wanted to be out of the hearing of Renesmee.

"What can we do about the car situation," I asked when we reached the top.

He thought for a minute pondering the idea. "Well I can give up on my thoughts of getting a new car and buy her one instead."

"You don't really want to do that, I know you."

"Well no I don't want that but I feel absolutely horrible. I want her to have everything, especially when we can give her everything she could ever want and need." Edward was a softy when it came to giving Renesmee anything that she wanted. I was a little bit stricter with it but I was always overruled.

"I know that you do but," I thought for a second. "What about my Mercedes Guardian. I don't drive it and at least it's safe. It goes fast enough for her and it sleek. We can get a new paint job for it and at that way I won't be as worried about her. Also, you can get the car that you want and I can drive my Ferrari, as much as I despise it."

Edward looked towards me and smiled. Although his eyes didn't change, I could tell how much they lit up. He grabbed me, planting a kiss on my lips. Emotion quickly came over me, with electric shocks running through my body. His cool hand caressed my face so lightly.

"Honey, later," I said trying not to stutter my words. "Right now I'm supposed to be taking care of the Renesmee situation."

"But I don't want to wait."

"Too bad. Why don't you do something nice for your daughter while we're gone? You own her."

"But what about the car? Isn't that the surprise?"

"Yeah it is from me but you sir," I said poking his muscular chest. "You have some stuff to make up for."

"How long will you be gone?"

"About 5 hours, factoring in the driving."

"Okay love. We should go to the house."

"Just one more kiss."

"Nope, not until later, remember."

"Come on, not just one," I said leaning in closer to him. He resisted as long as he could before he gave in and gave me a kiss. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, now get going."

I rushed down the trees and in through the open window to our room. I went downstairs to wait for Renesmee. Alice and Jasper were sitting on the white couch in the center of the room focusing on the television. There had been a massacre in Volterra, Italy. I sat down next to Alice and concentrated on the news. Edward moved swiftly down the stairs and sat next to me on the edge of the couch. As the news rolled on everyone was staring at the television not saying a word. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was too much of a coincidence that the massacre happened in the same place that the Volturi lived.

"Is it them," I asked looking to Alice. She seemed to be off in another world, her eyes were glazed over and she was in deep thought. I could tell that she was having a vision. I had been away from them for so long but I still understood their abilities more than most would. After a few minutes Alice snapped out of it and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at her including Renesmee that had come down the stairs a few seconds ago.

"Alice," Esme asked touching her shoulder. "What do you see?"

"They've gone insane," she said quietly. "Aro couldn't keep control of them anymore. Everybody is going their separate ways with one thing on their minds, destruction."

Everyone stood still, not knowing what to do.

"Momma, what's going on," Renesmee questioned.

"Nothing honey."

"No lying to me."

"We need to get her out," Alice stated. "I can't see anything with her around."

I looked to Renesmee and sighed. I needed to get her out. "Go start the car."

"Which one?"

"You choose. I'll be out in a minute okay?"

"Yeah."

She ran over to the drawer that had all of the keys for the cars in it. She pondered for a moment and grabbed a set of keys before running outside to the garage.

"What are we going to do?" I looked towards Esme trying to figure out what we needed to do about the situation. There was no way that we could just the Volturi go on a killing spree. They always solved the problems but now they were the problem.

"Esme," I said quietly.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to get involved in this."

"But we have no other choice," Emmett said sternly. "We can let this go on."

"We have to wait," Esme stated. "We've got to wait for Carlisle to be home so that we can talk about this. He'll know more than anybody. Why don't we relax not think about this for as long as we can. Bella, go with Renesmee and have fun. Don't worry about the problems her. Love you daughter while you can. Edward, Emmett why don't you two look up some information on cars. We are going to need two new ones, everyone needs a car and I need one too. Jasper, do you mind the Ducati?" He shook his head. "Okay then you can use that. Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, why don't you go hunting for a little while."

I was still amazed about how much everybody listened to Esme. She was the calming voice that everybody needed. Everyone headed off into the directions that Esme had appointed them. I knew that she was just buying time but at the moment we needed it. As I walked to the car, I was glad that nobody could hear my thoughts. I was worried about having to fight a war against the Volturi. It was not something that any of us had been anticipating. It was a high likelihood that we, the Cullens, the second biggest coven in the world, would have to overtake the Volturi. That was not something that I was looking forward to and I'm not sure that many other people were either.


	2. Gifts

Chapter 2

It was hard to concentrate on driving on the way to the mall. It took normal people about an hour but it took us half the time. Nessie had chosen the Guardian. I think she knew what was coming in terms of the car but I still wanted to surprise her. I had gotten used to the idea that I really didn't need to obey the speed limit. Even if I was pulled over I could have talked my way out of any situation. I couldn't come up with the courage to talk to my daughter about anything that was going on.

She remembered everything that happened when she was around 6 months old, when the Volturi tried to dismember her. She remembered being afraid and she remembered all of the things that I had told her. We never talked about it but sometimes when she had nightmares that's what it was usually about. Unfortunately, she got all the same crazy dreams and nightmares that I had when I was a human. I hated the fact that she had to deal with all of the pain while she was sleeping. There is nothing comforting in that. She was still a little kid when it came to that. She would sometimes, if the nightmare was really bad, come in and lye in bed with Edward and I. Those were the nights that she dreamed of the Volturi.

When we arrived at the mall I knew that it would be a long day. I had 3 different credit cards with me because when Renesmee went shopping it was always for a brand new wardrobe.

"Momma, what's really going on at home? What's Alice seeing?"  
"All I'm going to tell you is that there is a lot of ciaos but it's nothing that we need to be involving ourselves with."  
"Not yet or not at all?"  
"Hey," I said trying to change the subject. "I thought that we came here to talk about you."  
"Yeah I guess."  
"Are you alright sweetie? You seem preoccupied lately."  
"I know I have. I just keep having these dreams lately."  
"What kind of dreams?"  
"I really wanted to talk to you about this but I was afraid of what you would think of me."  
"Honey I could never think anything bad of you. I will have you know that when I was, umm, like you, when I slept I always had the weirdest dreams. Sometimes they were worse and weirder than usual. Before I was pregnant with you, I was having dreams about a little boy. He looked just like your father and we were all so happy together. I thought that when I got pregnant I was going to have that little boy, but instead I had a girl. The most beautiful girl in the world. I don't know why I was having that dream. Maybe it was because I knew that I was pregnant or that I really wanted a child. I don't want you to ever be ashamed to tell me anything."

"Even if it has to do with a certain someone."

"Oh."

"See I knew that I shouldn't have told you."

"No it's perfectly normal to be having dreams about Jacob. He was a big part of your life."

"Then why did you tear me away from him?"

"Honey I want you to know that it wasn't easy for me to leave him. He was my best friend and he was somebody that I loved. It was a hard decision for me and it was because I needed to get away from my old life. I knew I would need to do it eventually and when grandpa passed away, I found that as a chance to get away. I needed to get away for my own sanity. I was thinking of you too."

"By pulling me away from my best friend too?"

I hesitated. I realized that the reason that I pulled her away was because I didn't want her to fall in love with him. I didn't want her to be stuck in that predicament but that was also the reason that we never talked about him. That we never mentioned his name. Esme knew that that's where Carlisle was but she was too afraid to mention his name. It was a touchy subject and it always would be. Renesmee looked up from the pair of skinny jeans she was holding. She looked very upset. "Don't be upset. I was just trying to do the right thing for this family."

"Even though it hurt me."

"Even though it hurt you. It hurt everyone. He was a big part of this family but I was always so afraid of what it would become once you got older. He made a promise to give you absolutely anything that would make you happy. I was afraid of that. I didn't want him falling in love with you and you falling in love with him."

"Eww mom, about Jacob?" She pouted her face and smiled. "I never thought of him that way and I never will. For God sakes, it's Jake. I could never, ever think of him as more than a cuddly creature."

"Really?" This surprised me because I was thought that they would become something more. I never even thought to ask my daughter about the situation.

"Yeah really. Jake is a great guy and I always knew that he liked me. I don't think I could have hurt him either. I've thought about this a lot and I miss him but not in a way that would make him something more than just a great friend. I think that he had a thing for you."

"Yeah he did really. He was there for me when your father left me."

"Daddy left you," she questioned hesitantly. She grabbed a tight black vest, a white vest and a light blue one too adding it to the 3 pairs of skinny jeans in her arms all in different fades.

"Yeah. When I was still human, right after my 18th birthday he left me. He told me that it was to protect me from him. He always had the preconceived notion that he would hurt me if he stayed. When in reality it was much much worse when he was gone. Jacob had been a great friend to me while Edward was gone. He seemed to be the only person that I could talk to and not have to fake being happy with."

"How did daddy come back to you?"

"Well I don't want you getting any ideas here," I said while grabbing a red cocktail dress. It was a halter top, open back dress that went down to just the top of my knees. I held it up to myself and put it back on the rack. Renesmee picked it up and put it on the pile. I frowned at her. "I've never told anyone this but when your dad was gone I could hear him, like he was really there but only when I did something reckless. I wanted so bad not to forget him so I held on to it as long as I could. I rode a motorcycle and his voice came into my head. And then I decided to try cliff diving."

"Cliff driving," I heard her say under her breath with a little excitement.

"Don't even think about it. Anyways Alice had a vision of it and thought that I was trying to kill myself. So Rosalie told Edward that I had killed myself and he went to Italy to have the Volturi kill him." She stood shocked not even paying attention to the clothes around us. "So Alice and I went to find him. I felt awful. I didn't want to lose him and he felt like if he couldn't have me alive, then he didn't want to be alive either. I caught him in Italy before he exposed his secret. It was then that we vowed to never leave each other."

"You and daddy have such a special bond. When did you know that you guys would be together?"

"The first time that I saw him. I had just moved to Forks and I didn't know anybody. I was in the cafeteria. And then he walked in. He was so mysterious and I couldn't take my eyes off of him."

"Well my dad is gorgeous."

"Nessie."

"Well it's true. You are too, just look at me." She was right. She was the most beautiful child that I had ever seen. She had my deep brown eyes from when I was a human and gorgeous bronze hair that flowed to the middle of her back in tight curls. She had gotten the curls from Charlie and she was just amazing. Renesmee had a very slender figure, about the same size as me but just a little bit more muscular. She was a miracle to me in every since of the term.

"Conceded much."

"A little bit." We stood in silence for a minute looking around at the different clothing choices around us. I grabbed a v-neck tan sweater and got two more, why not, in pale blue and pale pink. I noticed her grab a little mini-dress.

"No, put that down. You are not wearing that."

"I know it's for you."

"Why would I wear that?"

"It's a surprise. I'm supposed to try to find you a few things while we're here." I went to say something but she wasn't having any of it. "Don't say a word, you aren't getting out of this."

"Fine."

"I like this."

"What? Torturing me?"

"No, doing something with just you and me. It's nice."

I smiled at her and continued looking. She was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe how grown up my daughter was. I really didn't need new clothes but she really did. Everything that we bought her needed to be thrown away not too much sooner after we bought it. She was still trying to come up with her own and way of acting. She had so many different things that she wanted to try. The classic vest with the skinny jeans and a pair of booties or boots was her classic outfit. It was something that she could pull off really easily. However, she could just throw on a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt and still look cute. We ended up buying around 30 pairs of shoes between us, too many pairs of jeans to count, dresses for whatever occasion would occur, shirts upon shirts, new jackets for the winter time and everything was pretty much light colors. For some reason it looked better against our pale skin than anything too dark.

We sat in the car for a moment in the parking lot. It was basically empty with just a few cars left in the parking lot. I looked over at Renesmee and she was reading a new book that we had just bought. She caught me glaring at her.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Well not for you but for me."

"What?"

"Would you like to try driving?"

"Really," she screeched throwing the book onto the dashboard. "Can I really?"

"Yeah you can." I got out of the driver's seat and switched places with her. "Now," I said closing the door and buckling my seat belt. "This car is very powerful. It takes a while to learn how to drive it."

"Just get ready."

She smiled as she turned the car on. Her smile reached from ear to ear.

"I'm just telling you right now, a few times around the parking lot is all you get. No speeding either. You don't want to end up hurting anybody."

It seemed like everything I said went in through one ear and out the other. She put the car into drive and lightly touched the gas petal. Even lightly touching the gas petal in this car was like going at 90 on the highway. I gripped the sides of the doors and closed my eyes. I looked up after a minute, surprised that we didn't hit anything.

"How am I doing?"

"You're doing…great actually. How did you learn so fast?"

"Well being around daddy and Aunt Rosalie I learned a lot about cars and that kind of got me accustomed to the actual car."

"Oh."

"You alright momma? You look whiter than usual."

"I'm fine. This is just so weird."

"I know I know. Do you think that I could drive home?"

"And what if we get pulled over?"

"We'll switch really fast. Come on you're a vampire, no police officer would ever know. Plus we look so much alike that I could just use your human license."

"Don't even pull that one on me."

"Come on, let me drive home."

"Fine, just…just drive the speed limit okay and not any faster."

"Yes ma'am," she said saluting me. She smiled as she put the blinker on and drove out of the parking lot. The drive home, I was panicking the entire time. If I still had a heartbeat when we started it sure would've stopped on the way home. She pulled up the driveway and parked the car in the garage. Edward was waiting for us and was shocked to find Renesmee driving. He walked over to her and opened up the door. She looked at him a little upset still from this afternoon. He knew that she was still mad at him from her thoughts.

"Baby, I'm sorry that I destroyed the car. I wasn't thinking about it. I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not really mad at you daddy. I'm just a little upset by the situation is all. I did really well driving home." He peered over the car at me and I nodded.

"Why don't you go talk to you mother? I'll carry these inside and she has something to tell you."

Renesmee smiled and kissed his cheek. She popped the trunk and walked over to me. Edward's face nearly dropped as he saw everything that we had managed to buy.

"Did you guys buy the mall while you were there?"

"Almost," I said. "Now just bring these up to our room so we can sort them out alright?"

"Yeah I guess."

Edward started to carry everything inside having to make a few trips.

"So how do you like this car," I asked leaning against it. "Does it drive good?"

"This car is amazing."

"Do you know this is the first extravagant thing your father bought for me?"

"This is your car?"

"Yeah."

"You have two cars?"

"Well you see. This car was the car that your dad gave me before I was vampire. It was his way of protecting me. It's basically indestructible."

"I knew that."

"And the Ferrari he gave me after I was a vampire and I couldn't be harmed anymore. But since I have the Ferrari I really don't need this car anymore." She let out a loud screech and gave me the biggest hug of all time. It knocked the wind out of me, so to speak.

"Thank you thank you thank you."

"You did pretty well today driving and I'm sure that we can make arrangements to get a carbon copy license before we go off to school."

"Thank you thank you thank you."

Edward was back and grabbed his daughter by the waist. He smiled down to her and smiled, leading her into the house. I closed the trunk and followed after them.

"So are you ready for my surprise," Edward asked as we entered the house.

"Is today a special occasion or something? I get a new wardrobe, I get my license, I get a car and now you have a surprise for me too. What? Do I get my own house?"

"Not quite."

Edward led her through the living room and into the kitchen and then down to the basement. I myself was extremely confused. I didn't know what could possibly be down in the basement. Edward turned the light on and Renesmee freaked. The whole basement was transformed into her own little apartment. There was a big bed in the middle of the back wall, all white bedding and a bunch of pillows. Around it was a white canopy net and next to it on both sides were side tables. On one wall there was a desk surrounded by bookshelves with all sorts of books. Then there was a curtain down the middle of the room. When she looked behind it, it was a huge closet. There were shelves and all of her stuff was hung up and folded. There were a bunch of pictures on the walls of family and friends and big art pictures everywhere else.

"Thanks daddy."

"You're welcome. Everybody helped out. I figured that we would want to be close to the family since we haven't been here in a while and if you fall asleep then you'll have your own place to go."

"Thanks daddy, I really appreciate it."

She ran over to the bed and hopped onto it. I smiled as Edward put his arm around my shoulders.

"Good job," I whispered to him. "You really got her."

"Well it's not just a surprise for her."

He smiled at me suggestively and I laughed quietly to myself. I looked at Renesmee that was looking through her books. Edward had left to get our things from upstairs and brought them down to us. He left us while we went through everything and separated it.

"So how are you doing honey?"

"Fine momma. Am I going to be going through something really bad soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well today has been nothing more than pampering me and I feel like something bad is coming really soon. What was going on with everybody today before we left?"

"I'm not quite sure yet baby, I'm really not. You know as much as I do. It's something that could be a potential problem in the future but not right now. We are going on with our lives as normal as possible for now okay?" I nodded towards her and smiled kissing the top of her head. "We've got two months to prep before we move back east."

"Where are we moving?"

"Somewhere in upstate New York. Esme is still trying to figure out the details. She knows more about this than anyone else."

Renesmee nodded at me and forced a smile. I knew that she was upset about what nobody was telling her but I didn't know if was something that we needed to concern ourselves with. I didn't know all of the details that were involved with the Volturi situation. It wasn't the Cullens' responsibility to oversee that part of the vampire world. They were nothing like us. I, myself, didn't agree with the ways that they lived their lives. They took innocent people and killed them, for their own good. It's been shown that vampires don't need to feed on human blood in order to survive. We were all proof enough.

After Renesmee and I were finished putting her clothes in the closet, we sat on the bed and she yawned.

"Shopping takes a lot out of you."

"Yeah it does. I wish I was like you, not getting tired and not having to sleep."

"Trust me, I would love to be able to close my eyes and sleep the night away. When you've got nothing but time, it becomes kind of hard to find stuff to keep yourself occupied."

"But still, staying up all night, it's cool."

"Alright sleepy head get into some pajamas and get to bed. Your dad and I will probably go to the cottage tonight, so if you need anything just yell for Esme."

"Not a problem."

"Love you sweetie."

"Love you too mommy."

I gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed up the stairs to see everyone. I saw Carlisle the minute that I came up the stairs. I ran to him and gave him a big hug.

"Carlisle, I missed you."

"I missed you too sweetie."

"How's umm, business." I was hoping in the back of my mind, that he would get the hint that I wanted to know what was going on with Jacob and his friends. I wanted to make sure that he was alright and I hadn't permanently destroyed him.

"There's been a lot of fighting lately. A lot of broken bones so I've had my hands full, so to speak."

I wanted to enquire more because I knew the fights were between the werewolves. If it were other people, then the other doctors could handle it without Carlisle's help. I was about to speak when everyone's attention went back to the TV. Watching the massacre again, the bodies in the street of Italy made me cringe. We all looked to the TV for a moment, before looking around the room at each other. Once we heard Renesmee start snoring quietly in her room, we moved to the dining room table. Or perhaps, a meeting table, which it was often, used for. Carlisle and Esme sat at the ends of the table while Jasper sat next to Alice who sat next to Rosalie. Across from Rosalie was Emmett and I was in-between Emmett and Edward.

"So what to do about this situation," Carlisle said calmly. "Everybody discuss your opinions one at a time. Jasper why don't you start."

He took a moment looking around at everybody. I don't think that even Jasper's abilities could help relax this very tense moment in the Cullen household.


	3. Decision

Chapter 3

I was trying to figure out what I wanted to happen as everyone spoke. I knew that we couldn't let the situation get any further in than it already had but I didn't want to leave the life that I had. I feared for Renesmee. She wasn't a fighter, nor did I expect her to be. She couldn't stand to see what we would see and I wouldn't want her to see her family in that situation either. My head went back and forth. Back and forth, not being able to make a decision. I looked over to Jasper as he contemplated a decision also.

He had been a fighter, earlier in his life, so he was used to the confrontations. He looked at Carlisle who all but sighed.

"This is not my decision only. It is a family affair and I can't guide this entire family without any input from you all."

Jasper took in a deep breath and started to speak. "As much as I am against fighting now, I think that our best choice is to stop them. I know that it would mean bad things for this family but I believe that we need to stop them before they expose our secret to the world."

Alice was next in line, flattering her eyes in a fast motion. Her visions had not been clear because we had not made up our minds yet. It was too hard for her to predict what was going to happen.

"I hate this," she said after a moment. I concurred with her. "I don't want to be a part of this. The Volturi are supposed to keep us all together and now they are tearing us apart. I'm afraid to lose any of you. I vote against going into a fight against them."

This surprised me. Jasper and Alice never disagreed and this was the first time that I had ever seen it. I thought carefully as we continued down the line. Rosalie was next. She looked towards Emmett and we all knew his decision. Rosalie, on the other hand, could go either way.

"With the right amount of prep time, I think that we need to protect our family and our identities and fight for what is ours. I think that the Volturi needs to be overthrown."

The hostility in her voice was unexpected. This was not shaping up the way that I thought it would.

Esme looked cautiously at Rosalie and the rest of her family. We all knew what she was going to say, there was to be no fighting.

"I think," she said louder than usual. "That we need to plan our time correctly. We need to spend the next few months looking into every possible place. We need to contact everybody that we know, vampires, werewolves, anybody that may have an idea. Anybody that is willing to fight the Volturi. I don't want to fight but I think that it is necessary in these circumstances. We need to build an army, bigger than any before, with more tactical training, more abilities, anything that will make us better than the Volturi. Just because they have gone mad doesn't mean that they won't go back together once their lives are in jeopardy. We need to plan, plan so well that it doesn't look like we have a plan. We need to use all of our resources. We need to focus on life as usual during the day but once night falls we do all of our research. I have been doing it all day. You kids are going to school as planned. I want to do this at night so Renesmee hears nothing of it. We are going to protect that girl until we have no fight left in us. She does not need to hear this it will only frighten her. We are all going to need to be our best."

I looked at Esme confused. I thought of all people that she would want peace, to protect her children. Maybe this was the best way to do it. Maybe Esme wanted to protect her children by protecting the secret. It had to be the only way. Esme had such strong maternal instincts it was amazing. I wish that I had those as well but she knew in her heart, so to speak, what was right for her family. Now I was confused. I didn't know what to do.

Emmett looked at everyone and laughed. "I do want to fight but I want it to be prepared. Esme took everything right out of my mouth and I think that is the decision for all us and for our secret."

Emmett was right. He agreed with Esme, which was probably the best decision. The time that I was dreading was coming up. I had to speak. I was afraid to do so because I was the newest member in the family and I didn't want to influence anyone else's behavior. I looked at Edward and couldn't read his face. He was thinking deeply or perhaps trying to block out everyone else's. Everyone was now staring at me. I tried not to panic, coming up the pros and cons in my head. I thought about what everyone had said. I took a breath and spoke.

"I agree with Esme."

That's all I said. It was hard for me to consider each point of view. I tried to think of it in a way a mother would. She cared to keep my daughter out of it as much as I had. Then I was waiting and waiting because Edward was next.

He was the one that I was waiting to hear from. I had not seen him all day so there was no way of being able to tell what he thought. He stared at me with an intense gaze in his eyes. He was being pulled. He wanted to know what I wanted before he made an abrupt decision. He looked around to everybody in the room.

"You guys really need to stop thinking for a moment so that I can think myself."

The room was already quiet but now it seemed deadly. I knew that I could still think and it gave me more time to do so. I wasn't going to follow Edward on his decision. I needed to come up with my own solution. I thought that he would have been all out for the fighting, to keep his family and his secret safe.

"I don't want to fight. I think that we need to keep to ourselves and see what happens. It is none of our business to be involved with them. They are not our responsibility. I respect what Aro has built but now he needs to deal with his own decision."

He looked at me and I was shocked. I could not believe what he said. He looked towards the floor and I knew. He had read Renesmee's thoughts in her sleep. I wish I would have known what he had seen and heard.

There was no way for us not to fight; the votes had all been heard except for Carlisle's. He should have counted as two votes but that still would have resulted in a tie. He spoke up finally.

"I don't want to fight, I think our lives are great the way that they are. But if the Volturi continue on their mad spree, we are going to have no other choice. That's go forward with planning an attack. We can at least prepare for the worst. If they continue to be out of line, then we will step in. As Esme said we will plan at night for the fight. We will contact everyone we know, get everyone that we possibly can. However, I think that it would be best to postpone school."

"No," a voice said coming into the dining room. It was Renesmee. She was wearing her fleece pink striped pants and a tank top. Her hair was all tousled in a mess. "I don't want to wait another year. I've waited long enough to interact with people. It's my chance."

She came over to Edward and I and sat on my lap. None of us heard her coming, I don't see how. Normally we would have heard her get out of bed. It was not like any of us to be so off on our senses.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm sick of being cooped up with vampires all day, no offense. I don't get any human interaction and I think that I want to be somewhat normal. Mom, you can't make me wait any longer."

I looked around at everybody trying to figure out what they were thinking. Then I looked towards Edward to make the decision because he could figure out what everybody was thinking.

"Well honey, you don't have to worry about it. We will go on as planned."

She smiled big and she looked at me.

"Now you go back to bed missy. You had a long day."

"Well would you guys not talk to loud? You're keeping me up."

"No problem baby," I said to her kissing her hair. "We'll be quiet for the night. Now go back to sleep, we've got a hunting trip tomorrow."

She nodded her head and kissed Edward and I on the tops of our heads as she walked away. We sat looking at each other until we heard her fall asleep.

"Edward, Emmett," Esme said quietly, in a mere whisper so that only we at the table could hear her. "Did you guys do what I asked you to today?"

"Yeah," Emmett said quickly. He got up and was back in a flash with a notebook. It had a bunch of scribbles in it from what I could see. I knew that Esme had told them to look for two cars today. She knew that what she had to say would be meaningful. She knew that we would each need a car to get along faster. We would need to split up, one person for each car, which is why Esme needed her own car. She always liked to ride with Carlisle. She felt safer and closer to him when they rode together. Jasper and Alice were the same way, not wanting to be separated for even a minute. Until Edward had given Jasper a Ducati motorcycle, Jasper and Alice always rode together. I too, felt safer with Edward. He was a much better driver than I was and I still wasn't used to driving fast. So in order to get from point a to point b faster, he would drive. I moved over to sit next to Carlisle so that Edward, Emmett and Esme could go over the prospects.

"You okay," Carlisle asked quietly grabbing my hand lightly. "You seem paler than usual."

"I guess so. I'm just a little afraid. My powers have gotten rusty."

"Don't worry Bella, we'll work on that. You have nothing to worry about. Edward would never let anything happen to you or Nessie."

"Yeah I know that but that's what scares me sometimes."

I looked over to Edward, wondering what was going through his head. He had just started talking to Esme.

"Well you see, it didn't take us long to find your car. I think that it's something that you would be okay with." She nodded at him. "It's a Jaguar XF-R. It's frost blue metallic colored and goes around 225 mph at top speed. I think the color is something that you would like and under the hood is absolutely amazing." She nodded again but with a more confused look on her face. I wondered if Esme had driven in the 80 plus years that she was a vampire. I smiled towards myself knowing that both she and I were alike in that way.

"And Edward can't decide what he wants," Emmett said getting up and putting his hand on her shoulder. "But he has narrowed it down to 3, which is a miracle in itself." Emmett smiled wide at Esme making a joke of absolutely everything. Edward laid out 3 different pictures on the table.

"This one," pointing to a silver, 2 seat convertible. "Is a Porsche Carrera GT. It's top speed is 209 mph with 612 horsepower. It goes from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and has a V10 engine. This one," pointing to a typical blue corvette. " Goes 206 mph with 620 horsepower and is a 6 speed manual transmission."

"Edward, I've told you," Emmett said. "There is no way that you are going to be able to learn how to drive a stick shift. If you haven't learned already then starting with a six speed transmission probably isn't the best idea."

Edward glared up at him and grimaced. He didn't like the idea that Emmett didn't think he could do something. Edward would buy the car just to prove that he could do it.

"And the last one," Edward said looking at the last picture and holding it up for Esme. "This a G Power BMW Hurricane M5. It goes 211 mph with 730 horsepower with 21" alloy wheels." I liked this one the best. It looked like black satin, sleek and shiny, and it looked like an average everyday sedan. I thought that it was the best choice.

"Edward," I said speaking up finally. "The last one is probably the best idea. I think it is the fastest of them all and it suits you better than the other ones."

"But I really want the corvette."

"Babe, be incognito. There is no reason for you to be driving a sports car when you're trying to blend in. You don't want an ostentatious car, do you?"

Edward and I both started to laugh quietly looking at Rosalie. One memory that was still clear in my mind from when I was a human was the first day that Edward had driven me to school. It was different when Rosalie had to drive Emmett, Alice and Jasper to school in her bright red BMW M3 convertible. All the guys swooned over to the car as she talked about it. She was so proud of her knowledge of cars.

"What," Rosalie snapped at us.

"Nothing," I said quietly, trying not to wake up Renesmee again. It looked like Edward needed to ponder over his thoughts about the cars.

"Thank you guys, thank you everybody. I need to go upstairs and think. Please, everybody, enjoy yourselves. Do whatever you want to do, just relax, calm down and try not to think about anything." She went around the table and kissed each one of her kids on the top of the head. When she got to Carlisle she smiled softly and kissed him on the lips. I think that it was the first time that I had ever seen the two kiss each other. Esme quietly flowed up the stairs. I watched until she disappeared. Alice and Jasper looked at each other in a peculiar way. It was something that I had never seen before. They politely excused themselves before leaving the room.

As everybody else excused themselves it was easier for Edward and I to also leave. We ran to the cottage and sat in the living room for a moment in silence. It was weird to be alone with him. It had been so long sense we had a house to ourselves that I could barely remember the last time. Renesmee didn't have many friends, any friends, in New Hampshire so she was home all the time, even while Edward and I were at school.

I got up from the couch and said, "Wait here a minute, okay?"

"Okay," he said confused. He didn't exactly know what I was planning. I liked to surprise him once in a while but he was much better at it than I was. I went through the closet that Alice had fully stocked for me. It was absolutely ridiculous and there was no need for it normally. But on nights like this I was glad to have it. I went through a drawer in the dresser that had all sorts of different lingerie in it. I picked through it and grabbed a silk blue teddy that went just below my butt with a matching thong underneath. I put it on and then grabbed a pair of 3-inch stiletto heels that were blue with a blue silk ribbon tying up my legs. I walked out and was surprised to find that Edward wasn't in the bedroom waiting for me.

"Baby, why don't you come on in?"

In less than a second he was standing at the door. He looked me up and down, confused at first, wondering what the hell I was thinking. I hadn't used my powers in a while, so I decided to try. I transferred all of the energy that I had into taking my shield away from me so that Edward could read my mind. I knew that he loved when I could do that for him because otherwise he was oblivious. He smiled from ear to ear as he ripped towards me and swept me up into his arms. He threw me down on the bed and grabbed my shoes off. He got on top of me and started kissing my neck and moved his way up to my mouth. It felt like it had the first time that he ever touched me. It was absolutely amazing and exhilarating. And we didn't need to worry about staying quiet like we did when Renesmee was around.

After a few hours, the sheets were torn off the bed and my teddy was in pieces throughout the room. Afterwards, we laid on the bare mattress thinking to ourselves. I was glad that Edward couldn't read my mind. I liked to think about nothing after we had sex. I loved the silence except for the trees moving in the wind outside of our cottage. I laid into Edward's chest and flung my leg over him as he grabbed me with both of his arms. I was so relaxed at that moment in his arms that I barely even thought about everything that was going on in the world. I was very nervous about what would happen with the Volturi and my family. Edward would do anything to protect Renesmee and I that it frightened me. However, with him holding me none of that mattered at this moment in time. I got lost in the moment like I originally had wanted to. Being away from all the problems, even if it was for only a few hours, it was nice anyways. I smiled to myself as Edward kissed my forehead repeatedly.

I looked up to him and our lips connected again. He started to rub my back, and then grabbed my hair as our kiss continued to be more passionate. Every time that we had sex it was like no time at passed at all. The light began to show in the cottage not too long after. I realized that we needed to get dressed and head back to the main house. It was not something that I wanted to do because I loved just being alone with my husband. Alone time was rare for us without anybody's prying ears, eyes or thoughts to disturb us.

I reluctantly got up a few minutes after the light had begun to shine through the windows. I looked around the room and picked it up quickly before going into my closet. I rummaged through everything quickly and decided on a pair of tight dark blue jeans and a black tank top matched with a pair of black and white converse sneakers. I came out and Edward was dressed and ready on the couch. I looked at him and smiled. He was the love of my life, even as a human, even before I knew what he was, I loved him with all my heart. He had been the center of my world for so long it was hard to imagine my life without him or any of the Cullens for that matter. I sighed and he came to my side in an instant. He hugged me with all of his strength and if I could cry I would, more now than ever. It seemed like everything just hit me all at once. I fell to the ground on my knees. I put my head in-between my knees and just wanted to lie there, to let everything pass by. Edward knelt down and rubbed my back softly.

"It's alright love. Everything will be just fine."

I knew that Edward was just trying to comfort me but there was a big possibility if we went into battle that not everybody would come back. It was something that terrified me to the point of becoming psychotic. I got up after a few minutes, finding the strength to pick myself up. Edward and I walked hand and hand to the Cullen house. Sometimes it was nice to walk around in the woods just the two of us. There was no need to run to get back to everybody. Last night had been a big blowout. I knew that Carlisle would be at work and Esme would be planning everything for our big move and other potential problems. Emmett and Rosalie were off hunting together and I was the most worried about Alice and Jasper. They rarely disagreed on something but at this point it was hard to see how they would be today. There was a lot of time last night for them to discuss things and see where each one was coming from. Edward and I looked at each other before the Cullen house came into view. Renesmee was waiting for us on the porch.


	4. Telekinesis

Chapter 4

"Where have you guys been," Renesmee yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Honey," I said running to her side. "We were at the cottage, like we said. What's wrong?"

"I got up and nobody was here. I got really scared and I was about to call Jake."

"What do you mean nobody's here?"

"I woke up like 30 minutes ago and I came upstairs expecting to see someone doing something but no one was here. And usually you guys are back by sunrise."

"I know baby, we just got a little caught up."

"Mom, dad, don't mention that stuff around me. Don't think that I didn't know what you two were doing last night."

"Nessie, are you okay? Honestly."

"Honestly," she questioned. I couldn't tell if she was upset or pissed off. "No," she yelled. "Last night I got woken up by nightmares again and then I saw all of you at the conference table. I know that something is going on and I want to know what's going on. I'm not a little kid anymore and I demand to be told the truth."

She stomped her foot on the porch and it was quite funny to see her try to be tough. She was far from being intimidating or scary but she wanted to act that way to get what she wanted.

"Let's go inside," Edward said. "And we'll talk. Then we can go hunting. I think that we need to get a little energy in our systems."

Edward put his hand on Renesmee's back and we went into the house. Renesmee went to the dining room and sat where Carlisle had sat during the night. I sat to the right of her and Edward sat to the left of her. She placed her hands on her lap and looked towards Edward.

"Daddy, you have to tell me what's going on."

Edward looked at me cautiously and I once again extended my shield away from me. _Tell her absolutely everything. Go back to last night and repeat what every single person said. Tell her that we came to the decision that Esme came up with. We will prepare for a while and see how everything goes with the Volturi before we do anything. We are still going to school in the fall and she will be normal._ Edward smirked towards me and put the shield back to myself. It was good to have him be able to read my thoughts and for me to work more on controlling my powers without exerting myself.

"We, the family," Edward started. "We have gotten news that the Volturi have gone wild. They aren't following the rules that they set down and they are massacring people in Italy." Renesmee's face went from anger to sadness. She didn't really know how to process the information. I saw Edward's expression as he read her mind. I took my shield and formed it around Renesmee. He stared at me.

_No cheating. _I thought in a calm voice. _She needs to process this without you prying into all of her thoughts. Keep going and tell her the plan._

"So, that's why we all sat down last night. We were trying to figure out the best way for us to proceed. We want to protect this family first and foremost. We aren't going to do anything quite yet. However, we are going to start planning and training incase something does happen. We need to recruit everybody that we know in order to keep this going smoothly. So, what do you think?"

Renesmee sat silently for a while. I kept the shield protecting her and me. I wanted Edward to have silence while she pondered over everything. It took her a few minutes to process everything. I knew that she was strong and she was like me with the fact that she was fearless when it came to this stuff. I was never afraid of the fact that the Cullens were vampires and that was okay with me. I wasn't afraid of becoming a vampire or any of the consequences that went with it.

"I'm okay," she said quietly, not sure that she was convincing herself of that. "I think that you need to do what you need to do. I want to help."

"What?" I yelled loudly. It broke my concentration and my shield snapped back to me. "You are not helping."

"But I can help."

"How? By telling people things with your thoughts? You're not getting that close to anybody."

"No momma, I've got another ability."

Edward and I both glanced at each other and then back to Renesmee. Edward smiled as he read her mind.

"What can you do?"

"Well I kind of came across it one day when I was upset in New Hampshire. While you and dad were at school, I was really angry that I was left at home alone again. So I was looking at a vase and it just snapped." I looked at Edward confused. "So after that I've been practicing on a few things. I just wanted to see what I could do without telling anybody. I've destroyed a tree before, that's the extent of which I have tried. It's like I have telekinetic powers. I can move an object with just my mind and throw it at a wall. However, I do have the ability to also just shatter the object with my mind."

I was dumbfounded. My daughter was a super-genius. I looked at Edward and he still had the image in his mind.

"Can you show me Renesmee," I asked softly. "With your memories first." She outreached her hand to my forehead. I saw the living room of our old house as the memories floated by her. The vase that just levitated into the air and then shattered into pieces in mid air. The plate was then picked up from the cabinet and then thrown at the wall shattering into pieces on the floor. I saw her walking into the woods behind our house. She looked at a tree and sure enough, the sheer thought of breaking it, it snapped in half. I couldn't believe it. I knew that she couldn't lie but still this was remarkable. I had never heard of such a thing with any vampire. Let alone a half-vampire, half-human mix.

I looked at Renesmee for a long time before she lifted her hand off of my forehead. I was still in disbelief as Edward cleared his throat. I looked at him and couldn't decide what I wanted to do. I knew that her powers would be completely useful but I didn't want my daughter in battle.

"Edward, why don't you guys go hunting? Renesmee."

"Yeah momma."

"You are absolutely amazing."

I got up in a hurry and kissed the top of her head. Edward looked at me and couldn't tell what I was doing. I went over to the drawer of keys and grabbed the Ferrari keys out. I took my shield away for a second. _I've got to go see Carlisle._ And in that moment I was out the door and at the garage. Carlisle's Mercedes was gone and I knew that he was at work. Rosalie's car was gone and Jasper's motorcycle. I really wished that I had known where everybody was. The phone in my pocket vibrated as I turned the car on. It was Alice.

"Hello."

"Bella, what's going on? Why are you going to see Carlisle? Is everything alright?"

"Umm, I'm not quite sure. Renesmee shared something with Edward and I."

"What?"

"Apparently my daughter is just full of little surprises. Now she knows how to move things with her mind and smash them into pieces."

"What," Alice asked in a screechy tone. "How is that possible?"

"Maybe her mind is more trained then we thought it was. I don't know how she did any of this."

"Well let me know how it goes."

"What's going on with everyone?"

"I don't know I haven't been home."

"Are you and Jasper alright? I'm worried about you."

"We just got into a little bit of a fight."

"You guys don't get into fights."

"I know. I just, I don't know he's really upset because we don't agree on the whole fighting issue. He thinks that I'm overreacting because for once I can't see what's going to happen and that really upsets him."

"Are you two together?"

"No. He went off on his own."

"And where are you?"

"Rosalie and I are on a shopping trip."

"Ah retail therapy, great thing."

"Yeah I guess so," Alice said depressingly. I had never heard her talk like that before and it was a little disturbing. She was depressed and it was all because of the Volturi.

"Are you worried about him?" Alice and Jasper never went anywhere without each other.

"I'm just worried that he is going to do something that he regrets because I'm not around to control his cravings."

"Alice, don't worry about. Jasper is probably just clearing his head. Sometimes that is the best way for guys to calm down. He will be all right. He'll be back in a few days, at the most, and nothing bad is going to happen."

"I've seen differently, but right now he is just driving to no where."

"Did he think that he was going to hurt someone?"

"There was a close encounter at the gas station but he resolved himself. I was very proud of him. I just wish that he would call me back, I know that he is ignoring my calls."

"Tell you what, let me go talk to Carlisle and then I'll call Jasper alright? I don't like to see you two like this. It really hurts me."

"It hurts me too."

"Well try to have a little fun with Rosalie."

"I will. Is there anything that you need?"

"Maybe a little something. I kind of ruined another, umm…last night."

"No problem. I will get a few more."

"Thanks. I just didn't want to buy that sort of stuff with Nessie around. It's a little too personal and she already knows way too much about what her dad and I do."

"It's still a little weird for you to say that."

"I know, I know. Just have a good time thinking about the torturing that you are going to do putting me into those things and you'll have a great old time."

"Yes I will. Take care Bell."

"You too Alice. Love ya."

"Love you too. Bye."

With that, I hung up the phone and backed the car out of the garage. I already had a hard enough time driving fast cars without talking on my phone as I did it. I really wanted to speed through Forks. I didn't want anybody to notice me. Nobody had seen me since Charlie's funeral and I really didn't want to run into anybody. I drove down the road doing about 60 and I was at the hospital in no time. I parked next to Carlisle's car in the parking lot and rushed inside. I went to the receptionist desk.

"Is Dr. Cullen in?"

"Why hi Bella? You look well."

"Thanks. So do you."

"How have you been?" The receptionist looked sadly towards me. I couldn't remember her name but I knew that she had been at the funeral.

"I'm doing alright. I'm just back here for the summer and then I'm going back east."

"Oh yeah, for what?"

"I'm going back to Dartmouth to get my masters in business. Edward and I just graduated a few weeks ago but we missed the family so we came back."

"How are you doing with that?"

"Umm, alright I guess. I drove by my dad's house today. It was just so weird. I can't really describe it." I really didn't want to continue with this conversation. I knew the receptionist was just trying to be nice, make small talk. However, the last thing that I wanted to do was talk about my dead father. It was a sore spot for me still and it made me think of the house that I had driven by so fast that it was just a blur. I decided to keep the house. I couldn't bare to sell it and Esme had kept it up so it didn't look abandoned, even though everybody knew that it was. I guess that Carlisle had heard the desperation in my voice because at that moment he popped through the door.

"Oh hi Bella, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Sure. Becky, can you hold my appointments for me? Just 15 minutes."

"No problem Dr. Cullen."

He smiled at her and I swear I saw her melt. Apparently that feeling just doesn't go away no matter how long she worked for him. Carlisle put his hand on the small of my back and led me into his office. I had never been in there before but it looked almost exactly like his study at home.

"Bella what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry for coming here unannounced. I just needed to talk to you about an urgent matter."

"What's going on," he said in a whisper. "Is it the Volturi?"

"Kind of. When Edward and I showed up at the house this morning Nessie was all by herself standing on the front porch. She demanded that we tell her everything that was going on and why we were all having a conference last night."

"Did you tell her?"

"Much to my dismay we had to. I couldn't keep this from her anymore no matter how much I wanted to protect her. Anyway, Edward and I were talking about how we needed to find more people with abilities that could conquer the Volturi and she revealed something to us."

"What?"

"She has another power."

Carlisle sat and stared at me. It was one of the only times that I had ever seen him dumbfounded. It was so weird to see my important father figure look like that. It was like he didn't know what to make of it either.

"What can she do?"

"Well it's a telekinetic of some sort. She can lift things up with her mind and move them. However, in the matter of a second, she can smash it."

"What are we talking about here?"

"At first it was a vase and then a plate. She decided that she wanted to try something with a little bit more bulk to it so she went into the forest. She focused on a tree and it automatically split down the middle. It was something that I have never seen before and I was wondering if you had any insight into it."

"I've never heard of such a thing before but nor had I ever heard of somebody like her either." He sat and pondered for a moment. He crossed his left leg over his right and thought really hard. I knew that he was trying to come up with an explanation as much as I was. "Maybe, this is the first time that somebody like her has had two gifted parents."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Edward's ability is in the mind and I think that's where she gets her memory showing ability. However, because you were human when you had her, it took a little bit for her to come into the ability that you contributed. The way that you are a shield is in your mind as well and maybe it just took a little while to realize to use her part of the brain. I'm trying to look at it for a medical and psychological way here. We only use portions of our brains and maybe when she was bored one day she really began to focus her brainpower. That is really the only thing that I can think of."

"So you think that because Edward and I are both gifted that Renesmee got a little bit of something from both of us?"

"That's the only to explain it. How long has she known about this?"

"I would have to say two years because of her size in the memory."

"I wonder why she waited until now to tell you."

"Because she thinks that it will be useful to us with the Volturi. She wants to help and she doesn't just want to sit on the sidelines."

"She sounds like somebody else that I know. Someone that, no matter how bad the danger is doesn't want to sit out for any part of it."

"Great, so she gets my pig-headedness. That's like my worst attribute and she has to mimic that one."

"Well like mother like daughter."

"But Carlisle," I said pleadingly. "I don't want her anywhere near this."

"I know that you don't but somebody like her would really help our case. Imagine if what she can do with a tree she can do with another vampire. That would help us tremendously. And if you can keep a shield around her then there really shouldn't be an issue with her getting too close to the battle. That way she can feel like she helped but she won't be too close to the action."

"No Carlisle I won't allow it. I just don't know what to do about this."

He got up and squatted next to me. I put my head in my hands trying to think. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Kiddo, we may not have a choice you know. The more man power that we have the better chance that we have of actually winning." I looked up at him and then put my head back where it was. "Bella, I know that you don't want it to come to that but if we need her, we need her. If we can train her and you can be re-trained then I don't see why she would be hurt psychologically."

"And what about…" I choked down the lump in my throat. "Physically."

"We will worry about that. She can stay in the background and do what she can from where she is. You can do it Bella, you can protect her."

"But I can't fight. I don't want to need protecting if someone comes after me. I want to be able to take somebody down without anyone's help."

"Emmett and Jasper will teach you. We just have to do it away from Edward. He is way too protective of you, even now. You need to learn first hand and you can't do that if Edward is always there telling the boys to stop."

"Do you think that they would be up to that?"

"Emmett," he said letting out a little chuckle. "He has always wanted to teach you how to fight. And with your speed, he'll be lucky to keep up with you."

I lifted my head up and let a little smile creep across my face. I could almost see the look on Emmett's face when I would ask him how to fight. It was priceless.

"Bells, we have time. We have time to prepare you and to prepare Renesmee. She will be ready and so will you. You have heart and courage Bella, you always have. Not many people would be able to know our secret as a human and never once be afraid. You loved Edward no matter what he was and you loved Renesmee even though she was tearing you apart inside. You have heart and courage and those are qualities that are only intensified now. You are an amazing person Bella and you need to believe that. You need to believe that you can do it and that your daughter can do it. It will be hard for you to let her go to battle with you but you have to let her at least try. She's not as fragile as you think."

I sat for a minute looking into Carlisle's eyes. I smiled again but this time full on. I wanted a little tear to roll down my face because that's how I felt. He made me feel like I was an important part of the family that I was worth training and worth keeping around. I sometimes had doubted myself in that situation but I knew that he was right. As much as I hated the fact of letting Nessie join in on a battle, I knew that it just one more thing that would keep our family together.

"Thank you dad."

Carlisle looked sympathetic towards me as I threw my arms around his neck. He picked me up and hugged me gently. It was the first time that I ever called him dad. I didn't realize until after I said it that there was significance towards it. It felt like I had gotten over my father's death a little bit more in that moment. I smiled in relief that some problems had been solved.

"Now Bells, you really should get going. You look a little hungry."

We separated from our hug after a moment and smiled at each other.

"Thank you again, I appreciate it."

"And thank you."

"For what?"

"Calling me dad. I don't hear it very often."

He also seemed moved by what I had said which surprised me a little bit. He kissed the top of my head and led me back out into the waiting room.

"I'll see you at home later," he said grabbing a chart from the receptionist and looking it over. "Sue Clearwater," he called after a moment. I looked around the room and saw Sue sitting in the corner. I must not have seen her sitting there. She eyed me for a moment and got up coming to my side.

"Bella," she said quietly. "Is that you?"


	5. Collections

A/N: Hey guys, I hope that you are enjoying reading this story because I'm really into it right now. I've enjoyed the reviews and keep them coming. I really enjoy getting them. I'm back in school now so I don't know how often I will get chapters up. However this week hasn't had too much time for waiting. Thanks for reading and please review.

The Collector

"Yeah." I stated in a quiet voice. I hadn't seen Sue in a long time and it was nice to see her. She quickly pulled me into a hug. It felt…nice.

"How are you?"

Carlisle backed up into his office for a minute.

"I'm okay, how have you been?"

"Not great."

"What's wrong?"

"Do you want to sit for a moment?"

I led her to the chairs in the corner. I didn't know what to suspect as we sat down.

"What's wrong," I asked her again, putting my hand on her shoulder. I knew that she had been through a lot with her husband passing a few years ago and her children Seth and Leah becoming werewolves. Then losing my dad as a friend. "Did something happen to Seth or Leah?"

"No, they are doing fine. I've just been a little upset lately."

"What's going on?"

"Well before your dad passed we had gotten close. He was there for me after Harry had passed away and then I had to deal with him passing. I feel like there is a black cloud over my head."

"Sue, don't feel like that."

"And then you disappeared and I've been so worried about you. If Charlie's death had this much of an affect on me I could only imagine what it must be doing to you."

"It's been really hard on me but that's most of the reason why I left. I couldn't stand driving by the house or seeing people that knew everything that happened. It just seemed like I had lost almost everything here and I needed to get away from it all."

"I wish that I could do that at times. I just couldn't stand leaving Seth and Leah. They were devastated too and I needed to be there for them."

"I know what you mean. I was the same way with Nessie."

"How is she?"

"Good, she's driving now."

"Oh jes, they grow up fast."

I chuckled a little bit. "Yeah they do."

"I just want you to know that I miss your dad and you. I was really worried about you."

"I kind of knew that and I'm sorry that I never said goodbye to you or to anyone else for that matter. It was wrong of me to just up and leave."

"Yeah but we all understood why you needed to that."

"I figured that but I still felt like I should've stayed a little bit longer. I knew that you and my dad were close and I should have been more considerate of you. I mean you lost Harry and then my dad. And your kids, well they aren't always the safest that they could be, and I have worried about you. Is everything in La Push okay?"

"Yeah everybody is fine. Everyone gets along just fine. Sam and Jake seemed to have reformed a little bit a friendship and that's a great thing."

"Oh yeah. Is anybody getting hitched?"

"Actually yeah."

I was a little shocked. I tried to think of all the possibilities of who could possibly be getting married. I thought of all the pack members.

"Umm, Leah is getting married."

"Really that's great. To who?"

She hesitated a little bit. I instantly knew whom she was talking about. "Oh my God, Jacob and Leah are getting married."

"Yeah they are."

"Oh my God that is great."

"It really is. They seem so happy together."

"I suppose me being invited to the wedding would be a bad thing."

I really wanted to be there for Jacob. He was there for my wedding, as much as he didn't want to be, and I wanted to be there for him. He was my best friend at one point and I really wanted to be there.

"Tell you what, I'll talk to Jake and Leah and see what they think. I think that Jake would be thrilled to see you and Nessie, even Edward."

"Really, you would do that."

"Of course sweetie, anything."

"Here, I'll give you my number and you can give me a call or you could forward it along to Jake. When is it?"

"August 8th."

"Okay, hold on."

I got up and asked the receptionist for a pen and paper. I wrote the number down carefully on a piece of paper and handed it her.

"Thanks Sue, if you need to talk or anything, just call me okay? I'm leaving at the end of summer but you still can call me whenever, whatever time."

"Thanks Bella, I might just take you up on that."

I gave her a hug and smiled. "I'll get Carlisle for you."

I walked down the hall and went into Carlisle's office. He looked at me.

"What," I asked.

"You are actually excited about Jake and Leah?"

"Yeah I truly am. He more than anybody deserves to be happy. I owe him that much at least. I'm glad that he figured it out with Leah, no matter how much she hates me."

"And you want to go to the wedding?"

"I wouldn't mind going, he was there for me you know. Even though I broke his heart."

"I know that."

"Did you know Jake was getting married?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell me."

"I didn't want to upset you but when you and Sue started talking I knew that she would tell you. I just didn't want you to be mad that he was getting married or that if you aren't invited I didn't want you to get your hopes up."

"I'm fine dad, no worries. Now come on, you don't want to keep your patients waiting any longer."

He followed me out to the waiting room and I gave Sue one more hug on the way out and then went to the parking lot. I look out my phone and needed to call Jasper. I thought for a minute about what I was going to say to him. How could I explain the situation from Alice's point of view without him getting upset at me too? Maybe I would break the ice with talking about the fighting. It seemed like it would be something for us to do and maybe that way I could find him and talk to him in person. Now that was an idea.

I opened up the car door and took out my cell phone. I went through the contacts and found Jasper's number. I called him and he picked up after two rings.

"Bella, is everything okay?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to help me with something."

"Yeah what's that?"

"Can you teach me how to fight?"

"Fight," he questioned. "Now?"

"Yeah. Edward is off with Renesmee right now and I figured that I would get some training in when he wasn't so close to us you know."

"I guess that would be cool."

"Where are you?"

"Just outside of Seattle."

"Where do you want to meet?"

"Wanna drive out here and then we can go from there?"

"Sure, meet me at the ferry on my side and we will go from there."

"No problem."

"I'll be there in around an hour and a half."

"Are you driving?"

"Of course."

"I can't wait to see this. Bye Bella."

"Bye Jazz."

I drove away from the hospital driving faster and faster as I hit the highway. It was easier for me to drive fast on the highway rather than the back roads. I turned the radio and blared whatever was on the radio. I hadn't grabbed any cds so I had to settle on listening to the crappy new music of today. Listening to this type of music was really bothering me. I didn't want to sit in silence so settling was all I could do. It seemed like no time at all before I saw Jasper leaning against his Ducati.

"Hey Jazz," I said getting out of the car and walking over towards him. I gave him a hug and smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Alright I guess."

"Come on and tell me about it."

We walked through the crowds of people and tried talking to each other. Jasper and I had never really been the closest members of the family. I had built a relationship with every other brother and sister except for him and I felt horrible for that. I knew that he was upset when I was first turned because I could resist human blood immediately. He felt like he wasn't good enough and that only made his struggles worse. He had gotten so much better since then. Today was the first time in years that he was on the verge of doing something stupid.

"Well, I'm just a little bit upset is all. I feel like Alice only makes a decision based on the future. And when the future is blurry, she panics and can't make a decision for herself. It really bothers me. I don't know, I just wish that she could make one decision off of herself and not always looking towards other people for her guidance."

"So you aren't fighting about the fact that you disagreed?"

"No I just want her to make a decision on her own, make up her own mind. Nobody is ever going to fully agree with another person, I don't expect that of her. I just want her not to make decisions based on the future but what's going on in the present. I love Alice and I don't want to hurt her. But I also want her to realize where I'm coming from."

"Did you talk about?"

"Kind of. But before we came to a decision she ran off and instead of going to find her I just took off. I figured that she needed time alone."

"You too are never apart."

"I know but maybe that's the issue. Maybe we spend too much time together."

"Jasper, that's ridiculous. You love each other. Sure, you spend a lot of time together but that's what happens when you are married. You share something special that I have never seen before. You have a silent relationship around people that is somehow louder than any other relationship. Your relationship is even better than Carlisle and Esme's in my opinion. Jasper, you two are absolutely amazing together and you belong together. Don't forget that. Edward and I have had a lot of disagreements but we pulled through them. You and Alice will do the same thing."

"Are you sure Bells? How can you be sure?"

"Alice knows where you are coming from. When she knows where you're coming from and maybe she will try to make more decisions without depending so much on being able to see into the future. Talk to her about it Jazz and she'll understand."

"So you think that talking to her will help?"

"It couldn't hurt at all."

"Thanks Bella," he said putting his hand on my shoulder. "I really appreciate this. I can't really talk to anybody about this."

"Anytime. I feel bad that I haven't been there for you more."

"I just can't talk to anybody else. Sure Esme would listen but I really don't want to talk to my mom about my love problems. Emmett would just make a joke out of it and so would Edward. Rosalie too. She really doesn't care about anybody else but herself and Emmett. I trust you Bella and you give really good advice."

"Thanks Jasper, I appreciate you saying that. I feel like you hate me sometimes."

He smiled a little bit. "Why would you think that?"

"Well I figured that when I was turned you were upset at me because I could resist human blood so well and you still hadn't been able to be as resistant blood like I could. I felt so horrible because it came so easily for me and you were struggling with it."

"I was upset because of that but it wasn't to the point where I absolutely hated you. I could never hate you. I was more upset at myself than I was at you. I was upset that I could live up to everything that you did."

"Really? You shouldn't feel like that."

"I don't anymore. I realized that it was something that you were born with. I assume that because you were so faint to the smell of blood as a human that's how you were able to resist. I don't feel like you are better than me anymore. I feel like we are on the same level now and that's where I want to be."

"Me too but I can't be at your level until you teach me how to fight."

"Well let's get on with it. I took the liberty of finding a place to fight off in the woods while you took forever to get here."

"Oh really," I said disappointed. "I thought I got here pretty fast."

"Yeah for you you did but for any of us you were still slow."

He led me into the forest and he took off. I followed close on his heels trying to follow his every move. I realized how agile he was as he weaved in and out of the trees. He was very graceful compared to Emmett and Edward. More like a dancer or a football player, something to that extent. After around 5 minutes we came to a clearing. It was a little bit smaller than the baseball field that we had traditionally used for training. I started to slow down as Jasper quickly moved to face me.

"Okay," he said as we came to a stop. "We are going to start with something basic. I want you to come up from behind me and take my legs out from under me. Then get into position to beat my face in."

"Alright."

He turned around and I backed up a little bit. I wanted to work on my every movement, making it a surprise even though he knew that it was coming. I crouched down and lunged forward in one swift motion. I swept my arms right at his knees and overshot the speed a little bit before turning around to pounce on him. He was already up.

"Too slow Bella, do it again."

I tried it 3 more times. Every time he was up before I could get to him. I was getting angry with myself for not being able to do anything.

"Okay Bella, watch me do it."

"You want me to sit still so that you can attack me."

"Would you rather run around like a chicken with your head cut off?"

I huffed. "Just don't hurt me."

"No problem."

He pounced into my legs knocking me to the ground and within a second he was on top of me.

"How the hell did you do that?"

"Just watch. While you're knocking the legs out jam your elbow into the ground and use your speed to throw yourself around quickly. It's basic enough where you can dig your teeth into their necks in an instant."

"Alright let me try."

Jasper set up again and I used all of my strength and speed to take him out. I did exactly as he said and I ended up doing it faster than he did. I had my mouth at his neck quickly and breathed heavily. A smile crept across my face as I got up quickly.

"Okay what's next?"

"Some vampires my want to tease you with speed. They'll make you run around all over the place and then pounce on you before you even have a chance to speak. Now I want you to chase me."

"Jasper I saw this trick with Emmett, remember?"

"Well try to stop me from doing that."

Jasper took off around the field. I watched him for a second realizing that he was just taking the same line. I knew that I was faster than he was but I wouldn't always know that about an opponent. I took off after Jasper in a second. I tried to catch up to him but I couldn't with normal pace. I took a huge leap into the air. Before I knew it I had tackled him to the ground. My jumping ability was something that I didn't show many people. Jasper and I lay on the ground for a moment.

"How did you do that," he asked looking over towards me.

"I just jumped."

"Really? I can't believe how well you did with that."

"I know I can't either. I was going to try to catch you because I know that I'm faster than you. But I won't always be faster than an opponent."

"And you did that so gracefully."

"That's something that I still don't understand."

I listened and heard something in the woods coming from the east. I shot up with a spring and Jasper was right behind me. We looked at each other confused.

"Now what do we have here," the tall lanky character said as they stepped through the forest covered land. He was very skinny, with bleach blonde hair and red bloodshot eyes.

"It seems like we've got some stray vamps Camden." He was more muscular than the other, more athletic. Like he could crush anybody with his legs alone. He chuckled a little bit. "Now what are we going to do about them?"

They moved in closer to us and I could tell that the athletic vampire had blood red eyes and dark brown spiky hair, going out into all sorts of directions. He was stronger than most vampires looked with his muscles bulgy almost out of his clothes.

"I don't know Aedan, I think maybe we need to do something about that. We can't just let them go free."

They didn't move from their position. I was in panic mode. Was this all part of Jasper's plan to help me. I looked towards him quickly and he shook his head. He seemed to breathe in deeply and an instant calm came over me. I knew what was going on but I didn't think that it would work.

"Can we talk boys?" Jasper said in a low soothing voice. "I don't want to fight."

"And what will you do about it," Aedan said drawing a line of fire around us. I was surprised. I had never seen anything like that before. After a minute I focused my shield and threw the fire off of the ground and towards the unknown vampires. They stood still for a moment not knowing what to do.

"Now can we talk," I said looking at them. I needed to speak up. "I want to tell you what we are doing here."

"Speak then," Aedan said with a hiss shaking off the fact that I had destroyed the fire that seemed to come out of his fingertips. These two were one of a kind that I had never seen before. They were unique with their accents and there looks and if Aedan's power was any indication of that, I was wondering what Camden's power would be.

"We are out here training. We have discovered some disturbing news so our family has to take care of it."

"What news? Of the Volturi going insane in Italy?" Aedan seemed to know what he was talking about and seemed to be more intoned to the conversation than Camden. Camden seemed to be off in his own little world and Aedan was the leader of their little coven. I thought of it then. What if there were more out there? And these two had been just sent as a greeting party.

"Yes. We are a part of the Olympic Coven here in Washington. Our family resides about 100 miles away. We are trying to prepare for the potential repercussions that may come from the Volturi going insane. My name is Bella Cullen and this is my brother in law Jasper Hale."

They nodded towards each other.

"My name is Aedan and this is my brother for all intensive purposes. This is Camden. We are traveling around here, checking out the surroundings. Then we heard about the problems going on and we were actually hoping to find some other vampires."

"Well," a small squeaky voice answered from behind us. Alice and Rosalie were by our sides in no time. "My name is Alice Cullen and this is Rosalie. We are also part of the Olympic Coven or the Cullen's. Whatever you may decide to call us."

"How many of you are there," Aedan asked curiously.

"There are a grand total of 9 of us at the moment."

"And you all live together? In a permanent residence."

"Yes we do."

"You guys are the Cullens? Oh wow, I was wondering if you guys really did exist."

"What do you mean," Rosalie asked impatiently.

"Is it true that you guys don't feed on humans?"

"Yes."

"And you maintain a normal existence with humans?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe that all the stories are real. Is there really a half vampire…"

Before he could finish I said, "Yes. That would be my daughter."

"So you are the amazing human. I've heard about you. So that was you that lifted the fire and flung it back at me?"

"Yes. I have a shielding power that can be useful in many ways. However, until just a few minutes ago I wasn't sure that I could do that. So what about you? Obviously you have pyrokinesis."

Jasper then chimed in. "Would you guys like to help us out if it comes to stopping the Volturi."

"I'd have to talk it over with Camden." He turned around to look at Camden. He nodded his head and Aedan turned back around. "I think that if it came to that we wouldn't mind helping you guys out. But only if you give us something in return."

"What would that be," Alice chimed in.

"Could you guys maybe help us with controlling our cravings? I've been trying ever since I heard that you existed but I haven't been able to do it on my own."

"Come home with us," Rosalie said. "Our father would love to talk to you about anything you could ever want."

"Shall we follow you," Camden said. I was a little skeptical about allowing these two vampires into our home but I had a feeling that they were genuinely interested in helping us and they just seemed like big fans of ours, which was weird.

"You can ride with Bella and I," Jasper stated. "We've got a car a few miles away."

"What about your cycle," Alice asked.

"You take it home and Rosalie can take the car. You know that she won't want to mess up her hair."

Rosalie playfully pushed Jasper and the four of us led the two new possible recruits to the car. Jasper put his arms around Alice as they walked and they both smiled. I was happy to see at least one issue with my family resolved.


	6. Surprises

Surprises

Driving back to Forks took forever. I couldn't drive fast enough to get the two strangers out of my car. I didn't know who they were or if they would attack us at any second. My nerves were getting the best of me without me being able to control them. Jasper took a strict account on their emotions. They too were nervous but also anxious. Edward would have been great to have at this moment and I wished that I had the same abilities that he did. I, however, really wanted to trust Aedan and Camden because Aedan's powers alone would help us out. We would be able to team up together and it would be a very useful distraction to the Volturi. I surprised myself immensely when I was able to absorb the fire and throw it back at the opponent. The closer we got to home the more anxious I became about learning what Camden's powers were.

Camden was very mysterious. He hadn't said one word after he realized he wasn't trying to intimidate us in the field or the ride home. He had a secret, that could be seen, but wondering what it was began to get annoying. However, I was too terrified to ask him incase he went off for no reason. That was part of his mystique and it worked well for him.

I turned onto the unmarked street and heard Jasper's motorcycle closely following behind us. I was sure Rosalie had beaten us home because I still couldn't drive as fast as they did. I pulled my car into the far corner of the garage in its usual parking spot. Normally that was an easy task but today it was not. All of the cars seemed to be squished inside, another show of how into cars my family was. I managed to barely pull in next to a very nice light blue car. Aedan and Camden got out with astonishment. It was the first time I had ever seen Camden change his facial expression.

"Who's cars are these," Aedan asked getting out of the car.

"Each on of us has one," Jasper stated. "At the end is Emmett's jeep wrangler, then my father's Mercedes S55 AMG, Edward's Aston Martin V12, Rosalie's BMW M3, and I'm assuming that's Edward's new car. This is my wife's Porsche 911 turbo, my niece's Mercedes guardian, my mother's new Jaguar, looks like a XF-R, Bella's Ferrari and my Ducati that Edward gave to me."

"You guys have the fastest cars ever made."

"Well it's kind of a guilty pleasure for us and my father has been a doctor for many many years so we are pretty well off. We indulge ourselves more than necessary sometimes."

"Your cars are absolutely amazing."

"Thank you," Jasper continued.

I came up and led the two gentlemen into the house. I offered them a seat on the white couch in the living room before I went upstairs to Carlisle's office. I tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in." I went in and closed the door behind me. I squatted next to his desk. "What's going on Bella," he asked in a mere whisper.

"Jasper and I," I started out very quietly. "We were out training just outside of Seattle. I had gone out there to check how he was doing after last night."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. We had a nice talk and were able to help him out. While we were training though we got some visitors."

"Are you guys okay?"

"We are fine. However, the two guys are very interested in who we are and our lifestyle. They seem very intrigued by our family."

"Where are they?"

"Downstairs with Jasper and Alice. One of them is a pyro."

"Really?"

"Yeah and they may be interested in fighting with us against the Volturi. They had also seen the news and knew what was really going on."

"What are their names?"

"Aedan and Cameron. They look like they are in their early 20s."

"Well we should get the family together to talk to them."

"That's what I was thinking. Are Edward and Nessie back yet?"

"I believe so."

"Time for a family meeting," I said speaking in a normal voice hoping that everyone could hear me. Carlisle got up from his desk and followed me downstairs. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett were already with our guests and it was dead silent, something our house was not used to. Edward appeared just as Carlisle and I were at the bottom of the stairs. Carlisle stood against the wall while Edward came to my side at the bottom of the stairs.

"Esme, Nessie," I started. "House meeting."

I waited a minute and the rest of my family showed up. Edward was grasping me tightly with his golden eyes weary looking between our guests and me. Renesmee and Esme appeared shortly after from the basement. I moved around from the couch and stood were everybody could see me and motioned everybody to the "boardroom" dining room. Carlisle and Esme took their usual spots at the ends of the table. I sat next to Carlisle and Nessie. Edward was next to her with Rosalie sitting on Emmett's lap next to us. Alice then sat in-between Esme and Jasper and last was Aedan and Cameron. It was hard to start the conversation because I didn't know where to start. Nessie and Esme were very confused by the two visitors sitting in front of them, being completely oblivious of their arrival.

"Hi," the muscular man spoke breaking the silence. I was thankful for this. "My name is Aedan and this," he said looking next to him. "Is my brother Camden. I wanted to thank you guys for inviting us here today."

"You're welcome," Carlisle spoke. They both looked at him with astonishment. Obviously they had heard about him before. "My name is Carlisle," he spoke lightly towards them. "And this is my family."

"I'm Bella," I said trying to introduce the whole family. I was hoping that with me starting everybody would start in after me. After a moment nobody said anything. "This is my daughter Renesmee," I continued. "And that's my husband."

"My name is Edward," he said being cordial. His face was soft and inviting. I was thankful that he didn't have a mean look on his face. He looked towards me quickly and I realized that the two individuals in front of us were being truthful and there was really nothing to be worried about.

"I'm Emmett," he spoke in a husky voice. Emmett on the other hand didn't look so inviting but he always looked intimidating, even when he was laughing. "This is my wife Rosalie."

"I'm the mother. My name is Esme, it's very nice of you two to come here today although I'm not quite sure what is going on."

"Well," I said speaking out loud. "Jasper and I were in out by Seattle practicing and such and then Aedan and Camden showed up out of nowhere. They didn't know who we were and once they found out they were more than happy to talk to us."

"You see Esme," Aedan spoke out. "We are very interested in the way that your family lives. Camden and I haven't been like this long, just 7 or so years but it's been hard since then. We don't like to hurt innocent humans. Usually we go for someone who is a murder or a rapist, something like that. But now we have been trying to hunt animals instead. We've heard about your family from other covens but never really thought that you existed. We knew that you lived in the area so for the past 3 years we have been searching. We just never came out this far. Anyways, we were wondering if we could do something for you and you could do something for us."

"It depends," Carlisle spoke. He looked over towards Edward quickly and he nodded.

"We would be willing to fight with you again the Volturi, should it come to that. We know who they are and what they are, how long they've been around and such and we are becoming sick of their tactics. We have seen them once."

"When," Carlisle asked.

"Around the time we were first created. They were in the area but we avoided them being very quiet and stuck to the shadows."

"Do you know who your creator was," Carlisle asked intrigued.

"I don't know her name, she never gave it but we weren't the only ones."

I looked around the table and everybody had the same look on their faces. Edward was looking to Camden and Aedan trying to find some answers.

"Victoria," he spoke.

"What did you say," I asked looking at him.

"Victoria was there creator. They were chosen for her little war of the newborns. They escaped from her not wanting to be who they were. They went days upon days together trying to figure out what to do."

"Your face is curious," Camden spoke up. His voice was so soft, so dainty that it surprised me that it came from a male's mouth. He sounded very British at first and it surprised me. "However your mind says something else."

"How do you know that? Why can't I hear anyone's thoughts? What's going on?" I had never heard Edward so frightened before. I got up and ran to his side.

"Are you okay baby?"

"Everyone's thoughts are gone. What's going on?"

I rubbed his back as he put his head on the table. I was expecting him to be very angry but he was more upset than that. It was a side of Edward that I had never seen before.

"Don't worry Edward," Camden said. "I'll give your powers back."

Everybody looked towards Camden with curious eyes trying to figure out what he meant. He became more and more mysterious with every minute that passed. I was trying to figure out exactly what he meant.

"I can steal any vampire's powers and use it against them. Apparently you can read minds. I couldn't figure out any other way you knew who are creator was. But I can somehow take your powers and use them against you. Bella, I could take your shield too if I wanted to. I've done that to Aedan on a few occasions when he pissed me off. Alice, you can see the future, Emmett you are just super strong, Jasper, the way that you control emotions is amazing, I noticed that in the car up here, and Renesmee, you have some gifts I can see. I would love to know how they work. Do you mind?"

It was very considerate of him to ask Renesmee if he could borrow her powers. I could see Carlisle at the head of the table in deep concentration. Renesmee didn't look afraid though. She nodded towards him. Edward shot his head back up in a moment and knocked me away from him and there was a loud crash.

"Oh my God, love, are you alright," he asked compassionately and afraid rushing from the table to get me as I was imprinted in the wall. There was an enormous dent there from the impact of my body.

"I'm alright I guess. Jes, babe, do you have to be so strong?" A smile crept across my face as he helped me up. I shook the paint chips and drywall powder out of my hair and concentrated on the conversation.

"Are you sure you're alright? I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry Edward. You have your powers back I'm assuming."

"Yeah, it just surprised and excited me a little too much."

"It's okay don't worry about it. I'm fine. If I was still human, that would have definitely hurt but it just feels like a little scrape now."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, come on."

He sat back down in his seat and forced me back to sit on his lap. We all looked towards Renesmee. Camden concentrated on her and he smiled. He touched Jasper's forehead. Jasper was sitting in astonishment as he saw the field that they were in earlier. As Camden pulled his hand away, Jasper sat in awe. Camden then looked towards a clear vase on the table. He looked over to Esme.

"Do you mind if I try it with this vase?"

"Try what?"

Apparently in the course of the day nobody bothered to tell Esme about our latest discovery of my daughter.

"Oh Esme," I said quickly. "Renesmee has another power that we never knew about. She has telekinetic powers too."

"Is that possible?"

"Yeah apparently it is. Carlisle seems to think it's because Edward and I both have gifts and she inherited his gift first because he was a vampire at the time. Mine didn't come in until later because I was human when I had her and it took her longer to develop the powers."

"That is absolutely amazing. This girl never ceases to amaze me."

"Me neither."

"The vase," Camden asked.

"Oh, that's perfectly fine. Go ahead."

Camden concentrated on the vase and lifted it up with ease. He then flung it against the wall where I had dented it and the pieces shattered everywhere. This amazed everybody. Apparently nobody knew that Renesmee had these powers. I figured she would have told everybody that she had powers but apparently Edward, Carlisle, Alice and I were the only ones that knew. Emmett looked over and Nessie and smiled. Rosalie got off of him and sat back down once he moved to my seat.

"So little niece," he said putting his arm around her shoulders. "You are even more gifted then me. That's so unfair."

"Sorry Uncle Emmett, I just have good genes."

Edward and I smiled at each other. I was so proud of my daughter for being able to have her powers and not use them. It was easy for me because I was used to being around humans all day but she was not. The only people she basically saw were me and Edward at home, since she hadn't known about some of her powers until we were away at school. Soon Camden was back to his normal self of not speaking and looking like a complete mystery.

"Are you guys interested in our vegetarian lifestyle," Carlisle asked.

"We are," Aedan said. "If you can teach us how to act and how to live then we would greatly appreciate it."

"And you are willing to fight against the Volturi if need be?"

"Yes we are. We despise vampires like them and the way that they run things. If Camden and I hadn't gotten away from Victoria, that's her name I guess, then they would have killed us too. We have powers that would be of great use to you and you have great powers that would be useful to us."

"Then we have a deal," Carlisle stated and extended his hand. Aedan shook it with gratitude. "We will start tomorrow. Esme and I have a planned hunting trip and you may come along with us if you would like."

"That would be great."

"Meeting dismissed."

Esme went to Nessie and put her arm around her shoulders. They went back down to the basement to whatever they were doing before. Everyone else disbanded leaving Carlisle to speak with Aedan and Cameron. Edward and I went out for a walk. When we were listening distance away from the house we started to talk.

"Are you sure that you're okay? I feel horrible for doing that to you."

"Babe, I said it was fine. You should apologize to Esme who will need to fix the hole in the wall."

"I know but I feel absolutely horrible for doing that to you. I need to learn to control myself better than that. I had been so careful when you were a human not to hurt you and now I feel like you're indestructible and that's not good."

"I'm not as fragile as you think."

"But still I have to do something to make it up to you."

"No you really don't."

"But I do, do you not understand how terrible I feel about this?"

"You are sounding like you did when you left me back in the day. I honestly don't care. You were shocked without your powers and when you got them back it probably felt…"

"It was like a rush of sound in my head. I wasn't prepared for it. I sometimes hate the fact that I can't get any piece and quiet in my head unless it's just you and me. I always wanted to know what it would feel like if I couldn't hear the voices in my head."

"And how does it feel?"

"I don't like it. I've gotten so used to hearing everybody in my head that when I was sitting in a room with that many people and I couldn't hear anybody's thoughts it scared me. It really upset me because I thought that something was wrong with me. That I had lost my powers forever."

"I guess it's a good thing that Camden gave them back."

"He will be absolutely amazing if we need to fight against the Volturi. Imagine what Jane or Alec," I cringed at their names. "Will do if their powers won't work and they get their powers used on them. Oh I can't wait to see that."

"So you are all for going into battle now?"

"I think that last night I was just afraid of the consequences. I was mostly worried about Renesmee. I didn't want her to have to be subjected to the evils that the Volturi bring. I know that her nightmares are about her memories of them from when she was younger. And I just didn't want to bring more bad dreams to her. I just feel like I need to protect her."

"Isn't life funny in that way?"

"In what way?"

"Well you spent the 2 years after you met me trying to protect me every second of the day. Then, once I became like you, you got another person to protect every second of the day."

"Well except our daughter isn't quite as clumsy as you were."

"Yeah but now I'm more graceful than any of you."

"And I still have not been able to figure that one out. I just have a hard time believing that someone has the ability to become so graceful overnight and overshadow the Cullens the way that you did."

"I'm just an amazing person I guess," I smiled. I was so happy to just be walking through the woods with the stars visible overhead. It was hard to imagine that stars even existed in Forks. Tonight was just one of those nights. I tried not to mark life by days anymore but for some reason, this day was just so long and so much stuff happened. I had found out about Renesmee's powers, I helped put Jasper and Alice back together; I learned more about my own abilities and found new recruits in the process. Then there was the matter of finding out about Jacob getting married. I hadn't had much time to really think about that. Edward and I came to a stop in an opening in the forest and laid down on the ground. It was still a little wet but that couldn't be prevented. We interlocked our hands and stared up at the stars.

I was still surprised by the fact that Jacob was getting married. It seemed inevitable that he would find somebody to be with but Leah of all people. Leah absolutely despised me and I knew that me going to the wedding would probably be out of the question. I wanted to see Jake though, more now than ever. It seemed like we had a lot of things to talk though, things that neither of us had a chance to say. I didn't have a need to talk to anybody else in Forks but he was the only one here that I still had a remote interest in talking to.

"Bella," Edward interrupted. I guess it was probably a good thing.

"Yes."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm kind of embarrassed by it actually."

"Why?"

"Well after I found out about Renesmee I went to see Carlisle. When I was leaving I saw Sue Clearwater. It was so good to see her and she was happy to see me. We got to talking and apparently Jake is getting married in August to Leah."

He looked over at me and sighed. He could tell the expression on my face and it was depressing. He looked mad too but it was hard to tell.

"I know."

"You knew Jacob was getting married and you didn't tell me?"

"Carlisle told me not to tell you and that you would find out in time. He just didn't want you to stress out about it because he knew how you would take it."

"I just want to talk to him. I miss him."

"I know you do. As much as we avoid the topic of Jacob, since we got back it seems like the only thing that is on your mind."

"See even if you can't read my mind you know what I am thinking."

"Love you show all of your emotions through your face whether you like to believe it or not. But if you really want to talk to Jacob then you should. You guys need to talk, for closure. You haven't seen him since Charlie's funeral and then we just left without him being able to say goodbye. Esme has felt bad for him because she knew how he felt. He would come over about once a week while we were gone to ask about you. That lasted for 2 years and then he gave up. He hasn't been in the area since."

"Really? He's been checking up on me."

"And me and Renesmee. He's always been a great friend of the family and before we left he was really a member of the family. Seth too. They were both devastated when we left."

"I guess I should have guessed that. Nessie says that Jake would always be her best friend but he would never be anything more than that. So I was worried about that all along for no reason what so ever."

"I'm sure that Jake will come here. Once Sue tells him that you are back he will be here. If he doesn't come within the week, then we'll make a phone call so that you guys can talk."

"Thanks babe."

"You're welcome."

"So do you want to take me for a ride in that new car?"

"You saw it."

"Yeah but I think that we need to make a closer inspection of it. Take a spin."

He smiled and it lit up in the starlight. It was so nice to look up at the stars in Forks and it was absolutely beautiful but nothing in comparison to my husband lying next to me.


	7. Wolves

A/N: Thanks you guys for the reviews. I really appreciate the feedback. I'm trying to write as much as possible but this semester at school has me slammed. I spent my weekend doing 8 hours of homework, no lie. I just need to learn how to balance everything again. I also finished re-reading the twilight series for the second time to try to pull out some more useful stuff. Well, enjoy the latest chapter and send a review. They help and make me want to write more and faster too. Thanks and proceed to the reading, finally.

Wolves

The next week went by so slowly as I wondered if Jacob would ever call. I went crazy checking my phone every 5 minutes thinking that it was vibrating. It was as if I was in a state of shock for an entire week. For God sakes Emmett beat me in a race. I knew how much faster I was then him but he beat me by a long shot. Everything in town reminded me of him. Even the light post that had once held his picture saying that he was missing. Those kinds of things kept me distracted all week. It had been almost 7 days since I had seen Sue at Carlisle's office and I was wondering if she had seen Jacob. La Push wasn't that big, she would've had to run into him somewhere. Or Seth would have told him or Leah. Well, not so much Leah. It had been 3 weeks since I hunted. It was starting to take over my body. I felt weak and not so much like myself. I couldn't have caught my prey if my life depended on it. Even as I got dressed at the cottage for a Cullen night out, it seemed like it was pointless. We were going a few towns over to a local miniature golf course. The weather was clear again this night. It had been clear for the past week also, not to mock my mood at all. I wanted it to rain I missed the rain. I normally loved the sun but lately it was just getting on my nerves. Then I got dragged along on this family adventure for absolutely no reason at all but to get out of the house. Leave it to the Cullens to pick the most absurd activity for vampires to participate in. We split up into 3 different teams. Edward, Renesmee and I were one team, Carlisle, Alice and Jasper another, and Rosalie, Emmett and Esme were the last. It seemed too convenient that there were 9 of us.

If it had been any other time this would actual amuse me. Emmett trying to restrain his power from not hitting the ball into the next town or bending the putter in half when he got frustrated. It put a smile on my face. Edward stood next to me. He had been so worried about me all week and his face showed it. He looked drowned out, like there wasn't much left of him either. He thought that I had finally gotten over Jacob and he was happy about that but now it seemed like he was fighting for my affection again, against somebody that didn't even exist.

Renesmee, however, seemed happy to be out of the house again. Alice had been teaching her all week how to drive more carefully. It was probably a good thing that she was driving because I wouldn't have been able to concentrate long enough to drive anywhere. She was doing well at miniature golf at least. She was beating Edward and I by at 5 strokes apiece. We continued to play for another hour or so. It was actually a complicated course. Emmett eventually hit the ball so hard that it smashed a windshield. However, prepared for his over powering behavior, Rosalie had snagged an extra ball and placed it by his feet. He put his arm around her and smiled. I had so many problems and everybody else was just going about life as usual.

I tried not paying attention to the other people around me. I noticed a couple, probably on a first date, with the man trying to help the woman putt. However, I also noticed that she was doing well enough on her own, only pretending that she didn't know how to play to get close to him. The smells around me didn't bother me so much so I just tried to tone out my senses. However, when I took a deep breath before taking a swing, I caught a scent that I noticed all to well. It had been a while since I smelled it and it was still potent. I swung and missed the ball falling to my backside. Edward rushed to my side and helped me up.

"Bella, love, are you alright?"

I didn't answer him but rather I looked around to see if I could tract my sense of smell. I looked around quickly, probably quicker than I should and then I saw a man 3 holes behind us. He was very tall, almost 7 feet with dark hair that went down just past his shoulders. It was a familiar scene that I had seen so many times before. It took a minute for it to register and I think Edward was getting worried.

"Babe its Jake."

"I know," I managed to stutter out. "What should I do?"

"You should go over there and talk to him."

"Did you know that he was going to be here?"

"Sort of. He called me a few days ago and asked where we could all meet up and I remember Carlisle talking about coming here so this is where we are."

"Alright. So I'm going over there."

Before I could get up the courage to go speak to Jacob, Renesmee was already over by his side. She jumped around him, hugging him tightly. Jacob sighed deeply and smiled, returning his arms around her.

"I missed you Jake."

"Missed you too Nessie. You are so…"

"Grown up?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"It's so good to see you."

Jacob looked about the same except is face was just a little bit more chiseled. I approached him cautiously. I didn't feel the way that I expected to feel. I wanted to be excited to finally see him but I was more worried than anything. Worried that he wouldn't forgive me, worried that he wouldn't care about me at all and worried, more so than anything, that he would hate me. He said hello to the rest of the family, with Renesmee still attached to him. Leah was with him. She was very relaxed and didn't seem to mind the fact that we were vampires. She came up to me before I had a chance to say hi to Jacob.

"Can we talk?" Her voice was calm and steady.

"Sure."

I looked at Edward and he nodded towards me. Leah and I walked in silence to the parking lot so that we could have a little bit of privacy. I was anxious to know how she had been and what she needed to tell me.

"It's good to see you Leah," I said when we got to the parking lot. I hopped up on Edward's new car. "Congratulations on the engagement."

"Thank you."

"I know that you don't like me and all but I really am happy that you and Jake are getting married. Actually if he was going to get married to anybody I'm glad that it is you."

"Bella I just want you to know that I have no hard feelings towards you. I've realized that the way that I have acted towards you was wrong and if I was in your position, especially with Nessie and all of that, I would have done the same thing. I just wanted to apologize for the way that I have treated you in the past and I hope that we can get past that. I want Jake to be happy and you make him happy so I can deal with that."

"I can feel where you are coming from. I feel bad for Edward at those times too. The kind of friendship that Jacob and I have is kind of hard to explain."

"I understand that. I've been taking a lot of yoga and meditation classes in the past few years."

"That's great."

"Yeah it really seems to be helping me with my anger and my phasing."

"So I always just wanted to say that I'm sorry too. I know that it must have been hard for you to have to be around Jacob after I left."

"Yeah it was annoying at first but now I understand. I'm glad that he came to his senses and we are now better than ever."

"That is so great for you guys."

"How are you and Edward been doing?"

"Good. I managed to actually graduate from college."

"That's cool. So how long are you guys staying."

"Not too long, till the end of the summer, then we are moving back east."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah but it's time for all of us to start over again. Plus, we are having a little bit of an issue across seas."

"Those massacres in Italy aren't human are they?"

"No. Remember when Renesmee was first born and the vampires came to take her away from us."

"Yes."

"Well they have gone insane and now it may be our problem to stop them."

"If you need help Bella we will be there. We will help protect your family."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to. Jacob would want to also. Will you be around for the wedding?"

"We will still be in town."

"Would you like to come? I'm sure that Jake would love for you to be there."

"I would love to."

"You are all welcome to come. The Cullens are like a second family to Jake."

"Then we will all be there."

"Could I ask you a favor, if you don't mind."

"Sure."

"Well, I have my bridesmaids Bella, but I was wondering if you would like to be one? Jake has so many groomsmen that I can't keep up. I only have a few friends."

"Sure I would love to. Just tell me when and where."

"Cool, thank you. How many more groomsmen does he have?"

"Well there is Quil, Embry, Sam, Seth, Brady, Collin, Jared and Paul so there are 8 groomsmen."

"And the bridesmaids?"

"Well now there are you, Emily, Claire, Kim, Rachel and Rebecca. But I have a feeling that Jake is gonna ask Edward to be a groomsman too."

"I'm sure that Renesmee wouldn't mind being there for you. Alice and Rosalie would probably be willing to also. Alice loves any excuse to dress up. That way it can be even at least."

"That would be a great idea. I'm going to go ask them. Thank you for helping me out."

"Not a problem and thank you for forgiving me."

"You can't help who you fall in love with, vampire or not. I understand that now."

She gave me a hug and walked away. "I'll grab Jake for you," she said turning her head. I was still trying to process the talk that Leah and I had when Jake came over to me. It was awkward to finally see him, with us standing alone.

"Hey Bella," he said coming over to the car. He came over to me and wrapped me up into a hug, lifting me off of the car. I hugged him back and smiled with relief. It was like I was home again, in his burning arms, right were I should be.

"Hey Jake, I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Congrats on the getting married thing."

"Thanks, I'm really happy."

"Are you?" I was trying to search for the feeling that was in his eyes. He was so hard to read because I wasn't used to him being in my life.

"Yeah I am."

"How did all of that come about?" I was naturally curious about how they had gotten to that point.

"Well we had been talking, while you were still pregnant, about how once you imprint on somebody you can really get over that person. Well, I had imprinted on Renesmee because I figured that I would be in her life forever. When you guys left, I was devastated. It was hard to let you go and Leah was always there, talking to me. We hadn't been close until we broke away from Sam's pack. But she has a great mind. Sometimes I just get lost in it. Then one day she imprinted on me. It was something that I never felt before and we just got so lost in each other. We went out east for a while. She went to Holyoke Community College for education and I went for criminal justice. It's in Western Massachusetts. There are a lot of woods out there and it was nice to be away from here. We just got back a few months ago, in May."

"I'm so happy for you Jake, you are doing so well. You went to college."

"So did you miss Ivy League. You got your degree I hear, 2nd in your class. Now that is an accomplishment there."

"Still you did something that I never thought you would. I'm very proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too. Nessie has gotten so big."

"Yeah she has, looks about my age now which is scary. I knew it was coming but it still freaks me out when she drives."

"I can't believe that she is driving. It's insanity. Makes me feel old."

"Tell me about it. You don't look like you aged at all."

"No, not really."

"So are you still a werewolf/shape-shifter?"

"Yeah we all are."

"And the packs?"

"All together, for the most part. Leah and I mostly stay to ourselves though. It's been really hard for Seth though, having to hear our thoughts about each other."

"Ah, poor kid."

"Yeah I do feel bad for him. So, how was living in New Hampshire? What was the house like?"

"It was an old Victorian house up in the woods, of course, where else? Umm, I would go to classes during the day and when I couldn't go to class because of the weather I would do them online. Edward took mostly night classes but a few days as well. I feel bad for Nessie though. We kept her locked up in the house a lot, which I hated but it was for her own safety. However, that also helped her develop some skills. Which, now that I think of it is why she probably won today. She can control objects with her mind."

"That girl is absolutely amazing. I just can't believe how mature she is."

"I think that's because of how often she was left alone. I still feel absolutely horrible about that. I just didn't know what else to do. Nobody could see her with her accelerated aging."

"I understand why you needed to do it. Anyways, did you say yes to Leah?"

"Of course I did. You were there for me on my wedding day and it only seems fit that I am there for you in some way."

"I appreciate it Bella thanks."

"You're welcome. Did you ask Edward?"

"How did you know?"

"Leah and I had a conversation. I mentioned asking Nessie, Rosalie and Alice also so that the numbers could be even. You've got the original pack as your groomsmen. How funny is that?"

"Pretty funny. Also the fact that you only had one bridesmaid and we are going to have 9 now."

"That's a little ridiculous."

"Yeah I know but I didn't want anybody to be left out. I didn't want a war to happen."

I flinched at the word war. It was like I would never be able to escape it. The thought of war on the horizon scared me.

"What's going on Bella? Is there going to be a war?"

"Well possibly. The Volturi are going crazy in Italy and if it doesn't stop then we are going to have to stop them."

"Only you guys? The Cullens? It's a suicide mission."

"We are trying to find recruits. Jasper and I were practicing the other day outside of Seattle when two young vampires came out of the woods. They looked to be about Carlisle's age. Victoria transformed them during that newborn war but they escaped from her. One has pyrokinesis and the other can steal other vampire's powers to use it against them. It is absolutely amazing. They have agreed to fight with us if we teach them the way of our vegetarian lifestyle."

"Seems like a good enough deal. If you are looking for recruits I am more than willing to help you out. Anytime, anywhere."

"It will probably be out in New York, that's our new residence. And I really appreciate that Jake. Leah already agreed to it so either way you were going to be stuck."

"Well I should have expected that."

"So what else is going on with the pack? How are Sam and Emily?"

"They are doing great actually. Emily found out yesterday that she was pregnant."

"Oh my God, that is absolutely amazing. I can't believe it."

"Me either. It bothered Leah a little bit but now she is all too happy for them. She doesn't hold a grudge against them anymore. I love that."

"And you don't hold a grudge against Edward and I anymore," I asked unknowingly. I was hoping that he said no but a part of me thought that it still bothered him.

"I just need to ask you one question."

"Ask then."

"Why did you leave?"

"I left because I felt like the worst person in the world that I couldn't save my father. I needed to get away. I couldn't drive by the house everyday and think about everything that I had lost. I needed to let go of my human life. I felt horrible leaving you, I thought about you all the time. It's just that I needed to get away from here, from this town. I needed to move on from my father's death. Now that I am back, it is still hard but it's not as impossible as it was before. I'm so sorry for leaving Jake and not saying goodbye. I didn't want to leave you, I didn't."

"In a way I'm glad that you did because Leah and I really found each other. It really hurt when you left but it was something that was bound to happen eventually. I thought about trying to find you so many times, it wouldn't be hard. I knew that you and Edward were at Dartmouth, not too far away from me, but I just didn't have the courage to go up there and do it. I didn't know how you felt about me."

"And I didn't know until a week ago that you had gone to the house once a week to visit the family. I honestly did not know. They kept it a secret from me to protect me I guess. I didn't even really see them. Alice and Jasper had visited us a few times and Carlisle and Esme twice but other than that, I didn't have much contact with anybody."

"Bella it's absolutely fine. I believe that we can be friends but just not as intense as it was before. The Cullens are like a second family to me and I can't stay away for too long. You have to understand that now you are back, it can't be like it was before."

"I understand that. I don't think we could ever be as close as we were before but Jake, I would do anything to protect you. I want you to be in my life. I want you to be there for me like a brother. Somebody who will always be there for me."

"I think that would be the best thing. An extended family of sorts is fine for me."

"Good, we are in agreement then."

The rest of our group showed up a few minutes later. Leah was so nice to all of us even though at one point she thought of us as _leeches, bloodsuckers._ It was a great change of pace. I was happy with the arrangement that Jacob and I had come to and glad to have him back in my life. Edward came to my side while Nessie went to Jake. I was wondering how Leah was doing with Nessie being back in his life. It would have been intimidating to anybody.

Edward put his arm around me.

"Do you want to hunt now," he asked silently.

"Yeah but you don't need to do you?"

"No but Emmett does. Why don't you two go off tonight? Be back tomorrow or Monday, whatever. You should probably go off somewhere, just the two of you."

"What?" I was confused. Why did Edward want me to go off with Emmett? Was he trying to get rid of me or was Emmett going to teach me to fight. Either way I guessed it was good just to agree with him. "That's cool Edward, not an issue. Maybe we'll go up hiking or something."

"Sounds good to me."

He smiled and looked at Emmett. Edward nodded his head and it seemed like they had a plan for me. I was frightened in some ways. Not knowing what was coming was different for me. I had never been hunting with Emmett. We all said goodbye to each other and Emmett and I went our own way in his Jeep. We went northeast, trying to find a new place to hunt. I was in the mood for something different, instead of deer, elk, and the normal. I just wanted something else to crave my thirst.

"So what's going on Emmett," I asked. "Why are going by ourselves?"

"I actually needed to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Well Jasper was telling me how you helped out Alice and him. I was just wondering if maybe you would help me out with Rosalie."

I swallowed hard, like there was something stuck in it. I realized how much it burned now. My thirst was driving me. It was like nothing I had ever felt. I kept to a pretty normal routine in New Hampshire and coming back here just messed it all up.

"Tell you what, teach me to fight and I will help you."

"Ah, nothing for free. Maybe you should have studied psychology."

"Maybe next time."

"Yeah next time." He paused for a moment and I could tell that he was thinking hard. "Are you doing okay with the Volturi?"

"For the most part. We got the werewolves in on the fight tonight."

"Well look at you little miss recruiter."

"Thank you, thank you," I said imitating a bow. A smile crept across my face. I could always be myself and joke around with Emmett.

"So that's good. How are you feeling about Jake?"

"Good. He deserves to be happy and I don't want to keep him from that. I want him to have what I have. I know that I will spend the rest of eternity with Edward and with you guys. I'm glad that he has what I do. It doesn't make me feel so guilty."

"Why do you feel guilty? It's not your fault that you love Edward more than Jacob."

"I know but I just feel like I led him on. We always had a special relationship and I feel like I destroyed that when Edward and I got married and then my decision to become a vampire. If it wasn't for Nessie then he never would have been able to forgive me."

"Bells, that's not true. You and Jacob are meant to be best friends, family even."

"Yeah that's the decision that we came up with today. We are going to be brother and sister. We won't see each other as much as we used to but we will still see each other, which is the main thing."

"I'm glad that you two are doing good. The kid was getting on my last nerve when you left. He's lucky I didn't throw him through a window." He laughed through the rain on the windshield. "Actually, he may have been thinking I would do that. Glad I didn't."

Of course, now that I was happy, now that my life was getting back to normal it was raining again. Nature and me had never been in tune, even now when I went on hunting trips we didn't get along. I just couldn't see why the weather was always opposite of my mood.

"Emmett."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Getting me out, taking me hunting, teaching me to fight."

"You're welcome. Thank you for helping me in advance."

"Not a problem, we will talk once I get some energy."

"No problem sis."

He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and leaned my head on his shoulder. It was so soft that it felt like a pillow. I closed my eyes just to think for a minute. I felt like I had fallen asleep but that, of course, could not be true.


	8. Tricks

_A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them. I'm getting really into writing this. I've got a few ideas that are brewing inside my head. It's just a matter of trying to make them all make sense. Leave some reviews, good or bad. I appreciate the feedback._

Chapter 8

The night was very long. I decided that we should wait until morning to go hunting, hopefully the rain would stop, or at least slow down. Emmett and I saw the sun rise over the horizon and we smiled at each other. At this time I would have attacked anything because I was so thirsty. I smiled towards him and we got out of his Jeep. I wasn't even paying attention to Emmett as I let my senses take over me. It felt like my first time hunting again, except this time I was very weak. My body wasn't allowing me to catch much. I came across a herd of elk and took a leap for the first thing I could see. It wasn't the biggest elk but it did help restore some energy. I needed to really hunt something that I wanted. I caught up to Emmett, who was antagonizing a bear, what else. The guy had a vendetta that would never go away. I laughed loudly and he looked questioningly to me, apparently not noticing me standing and watching him. He then got swatted across the face and fell to the ground. This made me laugh even harder, almost to the point of rolling around on the ground, holding my stomach. After the bear had a little fun with the still stunned Emmett, I decided to intervene for the sake of my brother. Emmett then tackled the bear with one fair swoop. I left him alone and went off on my own. I hunted a pack of deer, three of them, and I felt almost fully satisfied. But I knew that I would have to face Emmett eventually. It was going to be weird talking to him about Rosalie but I knew that he would appreciate it.

Emmett was already leaning against his Jeep when I emerged through the forest. I was going to start laughing but he knocked into the back of me before I had a chance to. I jumped up to my feet from my back and ran after him. When I was a few yards away from him, I dove into his legs, knocking him to the ground and using Jasper's move to be on top of him in a second. I lightly bit his neck, not leaving a mark, and he flung me off of him. He jumped up, not quite as gracefully as I did but still fast nonetheless. I sprinted into the forest, trying to outrun him. If my running was any indication, I could just run away from the fight. I didn't have surprise on my side this time and I knew that the Volturi would attack me first for being able to block out Jane and Alec's attacks. I jumped up into the green trees that hung overhead waiting for Emmett to run by. When he did, I leaped out and landed on his back, lightly biting his neck again.

He then flung me from his back to the ground, with a little bit more force than necessary. It actually sent a jolt flying through my back. He was getting frustrated, I could see that. So, not only did I need training, but it seemed that he did as well. He came lunging at me to the ground but I used both my legs to kick him away. It took a few kicks but I was back on my feet in no time. We both eyed each other, unsure of what the other was going to do. We stared at each other, both estimating one another and I started laughing, standing up out of my crouch and looking at Emmett. It didn't seem like I could stop. When he joined in, I started walking towards the clearing. I gently climbed onto a rock and waited for Emmett to join me.

A few minutes later, he came out of the forest with his arms raised in the air.

"Alright sis, how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You could have killed me twice. Why do you need practice?"

"Just in case. You had me on the ground."

"And you got up without much effort."

"That didn't look like much effort," I laughed a little bit. "Are you kidding me?"

"Well it usually takes people just a little bit longer to be on their feet again is all I'm saying."

"Did you really need to slam me that hard?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you alright?"

"I should be fine, just a little bit of pain," I smiled towards him. "No biggy. Like you said I could have killed you." I laughed quietly to myself again.

"Oh Bells, I'm so happy you're back. I've really missed you you know."

"Well I've been here a few weeks and you're just saying this now."

"You've been here physically but not emotionally. You're back to acting like you're dorky self again."

"Oh I hadn't noticed," I lied. I hadn't been myself all week but when I first came back I was fine. Emmett looked at me and smiled, though there was questioning in his eyes.

"Of course you have sis. You missed Jake way more than you are willing to admit and more than you should and now that you've seen him, here you are, constantly joking with a smile on your face. It's all because of that mutt isn't it?"

"Yes Emmett, the reason that I am happy is because of Jake but he's not the reason why I haven't been the same."

"Then what is it?"

"My dad," I barely whispered. It was hard for me to admit that I missed my dad. That I hadn't gotten over it yet. "I don't think it's right for me to still be upset by it. I'm supposed to be stronger than that."

"You are strong Bella. You just need to believe it. You are very strong physically, everything seems so natural to you, and you just need to have more confidence. And nobody expects you to be over Charlie's death. He was a huge part of your life and ours that is not an issue. Sometimes we just miss the old Bella."

"I'm still here Emmett."

"Yes now you are."

"I thought that we were here to talk about you, not me."

"Sorry, it's a reflex to protect you and make sure that you are okay. It seems easier than dealing with my own problems."

"What's going on with you and Rose?"

"I don't know. I love her to the end of the earth but everything between us is just physical. I want to have intellectual conversations, not just ones about how pretty she is and how her outfits look. She knows that she looks good in anything and I feel like I'm just an item to look at. Something that just looks good standing next to her, like an accessory. It normally doesn't bother me but lately it's been getting on my nerves. Carlisle and Esme have intellectual conversation, Alice and Jasper, you and Edward. All of you actually talk. Even couples that I see in town, they talk, even if it's about pointless babble. I'm just so sick of not having that."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"Not really but I haven't been physical with her quite as much lately. I'm just hoping that she'll figure it out."

"You just can't expect her to know what you're thinking. Not everyone is a mind reader. You've got to talk to her Em. You want to talk to her more, then you've got to make the first step."

"And I'm afraid to talk to her. She chose me, she carried me a hundred miles for Carlisle to save me, she picked me out of everybody in the world that would love to be with her and I'm lucky to be with her. I don't want to lose her."

"You won't lose her. Rosalie loves you. You both belong to this family and neither of you is going anywhere. We are all bonded together by the same blood so to speak and you just need to talk to her. You know what she is interested in. Maybe tell her something you read, teach her something and maybe she will surprise you and already know what you are talking about and then you can have a discussion about it. You just have to take baby steps."

"So what should we talk about?"

"You know her interests. Talk about cars, music, maybe theater, and architecture. I can't do all the work, you've got to do some too."

"I know but I'm really nervous."

Emmett was nervous. It wasn't his usual attitude. He was the joker, the fighter and always up for anything. But for some reason, when it came to his wife, he didn't have any clue. Calming Emmett down wasn't easy, a time where Jasper would have been a great asset. Dealing with Rosalie, though, I understood his frustration. Rose was not the easiest person to get along with. She was very stubborn and controlling. She always got her way, no matter how sill the situation was.

On the way home I was in a much better mood. This time would be critical for my family. We had time incase we did end up in a battle with the Volturi but I hated that couldn't at least go a decade without having to deal with them. Maybe with the Volturi gone everybody would get some peace and quiet and not have to worry about them anymore. I was even more excited when we were driving back into Forks. I started thinking more about seeing my family and it felt like we were away a lot longer than we actually were. I missed my daughter, my Edward and all the rest of my family.

When Emmett and I turned into the garage, I almost hoped out of the car before it stopped moving. I ran into the house and the first person that I saw was the one that I was hopping to see. Edward was sitting at the piano, just as elegant and graceful as ever. I smiled and sat down next to him. It felt like I hadn't seen him in so long, like every part of him part of him was a brand new experience. I laid my head on his shoulder and took a deep breath. His scent was so overpowering and unlike anything else in the world. It still sent a shock pulsing through my body. I felt perfectly content to close my eyes with Edward so close to me. A familiar tune then filled the room. It was one, that no matter how old I got, I would never forget from my human life. It was the lullaby that Edward had wrote for me, the one that he hummed me to sleep with every night and the one that made me feel safe no matter where I was. It calmed so much that there was no need for Jasper to even use his powers on me. Edward kissed my forehead and smiled. I didn't notice anybody else in the room. They could all be staring or talking or fighting but it was all insignificant to me at that moment.

Edward got up and went upstairs without one word. I followed him without thinking twice about it. The king size black iron bed was covered with new bright white linens. He lay down and motioned for me to join him. The silence with Edward never seemed to matter; there was no such thing as an awkward silence. I cuddled up into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, placing his head on top of mine. We were a puzzle, fit together perfectly, like a statue not moving for what seemed like no time at all but the sunset made me realize how late it was getting. Nobody seemed to be near us. I closed my eyes and remembered my fuzzy human memories. We were back on Isle Esme, completely secluded from the world. This bed felt exactly like that one, big and soft.

There was then a soft knock on the door. Edward didn't move and neither did I. Who could possibly be knocking on my door when I was in such perfect peace? Who would bother with my motionless state and try to get me to do anything? The knock repeated itself at that moment, a little bit louder than before.

"Alice," Edward whispered. He sounded just as disappointed as I was. I hadn't heard him speak all day and it as wonderful, just speaking one name. She opened the door slowly, unsure of what to find hiding behind it.

"We're decent," I said as my voice chimed through the room. It surprised me more than it should have. Alice then gracefully opened the door and sprung up onto the bed sitting Indian style at our feet. She looked over to us and sighed.

"Is this all that you guys have being doing all day," she sounded disappointed with her statement.

"What's it to you," Edward said rudely.

"Nothing, I just figured that you guys would do something more exciting. However, it was quiet so I shouldn't have expected anything else."

"Is there a point to this Alice or are you just trying to annoy us?"

"Well, we are getting a chess tournament together downstairs and if you join us then Bella can practice her shielding."

"Oh so you get the unfair advantage."

"No that's what Nessie is here for."

"So just a normal like chess tournament."

"I guess it really is. It's amazing what us vampires can come up with that can also be training."

"How does this help," I asked quietly.

"Well Edward can read minds and all, and if you can block his opponent's thoughts then he may actually lose his first game of chess. It's never happened before."

"Really?"

"No, it's never happened. You know that Edward can just read an opponent's mind so it's not fair no matter how you look at it. And he has more patience than I do so he's never forfeited, only me."

I sat up now and stared outside. It ended up being a beautiful night. It seemed like we should be outside doing something but there really wasn't much that we could do anyways. However, we still were trying to find more stuff to do as a family, anything normal at least. I hoped out of mine and Edward's bed and grabbed his arm. He wasn't budging.

"Come on Edward, I need you to help me. I need to train."

"No."

"Please?" I puckered up my lips, making my sad face so that I could get anything that I wanted. But obviously that wasn't enough.

"Sorry love, no."

"Alice a little help."

She was already at one of his legs, with her hands gripped around his ankle. I went down to join her. It was absolutely hysterical. Edward wasn't budging as Alice and I pulled with all our mite. It could be that he was holding onto the bedposts for help.

"Emmett," I yelled down the stairs trying to hold my laughing composure for a minute. "Help."

He was up in a second and stopped dead in the doorway, not knowing what to make of the scene. He was on the ground in a split second, laughing and holding his stomach.

"You're not helping," Alice growled at him.

"You two can't do anything can you?"

Emmett got up slowly and released Edward's hands from the now bent bedposts and picked up his upper torso. The three of us then carried him down the stairs. However, he didn't move. It seemed like he was perfectly content with me in our bed. Family time at that moment wasn't what he wanted at all. However, with help from Emmett and Alice we managed to get him into a chair. I sat next to him.

"Edward, come on, be a good sport."

He looked into my eyes and pouted.

"I am. One, I just wanted to see you make the face and two, it was absolutely hysterical feeling you and Alice trying pull me off the bed." A smile came across his face and he chuckled a little bit. I was fuming. I punched him in the arm and pouted.

"You did not do that."

"Of course I did. Come on love, it was a joke."

"No, I'm mad."

"Mom," Nessie said coming around the corner. "Stop acting like a little kid. Daddy was just joking."

I instantly looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah it was just…a…joke."

I punched Edward harder this time and walked over to Nessie.

"Give you a little secret. When you get married," I put my arm around her. "Don't ever let him see you vulnerable. You've got to hold your own weight."

"I know mom, I've seen your disagreements."

I was shocked. "When have you ever seen us fight?"

"Not often only sometimes when I was pretending to sleep. Dad never seemed to notice how blank my mind was. I'm surprised that I got away with it. You're so lucky that he can't do that to you."

"Yeah I really am. Sorry I didn't pass that along."

"Not a problem. I love the other skill that you gave me."

"We need to talk about that."

"Can we do it later? This has been a really intense discussion and I want to be a spectator in this event."

"You sound like this is some big league sporting event."

"In this household, this is as exciting as it's going to get."

"Then why don't we organize a little sporting tournament?"

"Really?"

"Yeah that will be your job, after tonight though."

"Cool."

Renesmee smiled and everybody took their positions. There was tables set up through out the room, some in every corner of the room, 4 in total. There was also a large chart on poster board hanging on one of the walls. It was set up in brackets. The first game was Carlisle and Jasper, then Esme and Rosalie, Alice and Renesmee and Edward and Emmett. I tried to keep my focus on Edward, using my shield to protect Emmett. Edward winced as he tried to remember how to play without being able to read Emmett's mind. He still, however, managed to beat Emmett. That table and chessboard were finished. Once Edward said checkmate the board was thrown across the room shattering into the wall and the table was punched into pieces. The way that Emmett reacted when he lost was absolutely hysterical. He had a huge temper, 10 times bigger than mine ever was.

In the next round Edward went up against Alice. It reminded me of the times when I had seen them play chess before when they would move only a few pieces and then give up trying. They eyed each other cautiously, wondering if the other would anticipate what the other was going to do. I looked around, stretching out my shield to the furthest reaches of the room to help Edward concentrate even more. Carlisle and Esme were on the opposite side of the room eying each other as well. I knew my shield was getting stronger and stronger every day. However, I didn't know how it might help in a battle. The Volturi knew my power now and they wouldn't think twice about getting rid of me the second that the battle went underway. I looked around and noticed that Emmett and Rosalie had left. I was wondering if Emmett was going to talk to her or if she was just calming him down.

_Did Emmett go talk to Rosalie about the issues that he is having?_

Edward jumped at the sound of my thoughts. He was so deep in concentration that it took him a minute to understand what I was asking. He looked up to me and nodded. I was then hoping that all went well for Emmett. However, even with my break in concentration it didn't seem to affect my shield any.

"Love," Edward spoke quietly into the dead silent room. "Do you mind returning your shield? I can't concentrate with all of your…umm…thoughts." He grinned minimally and I didn't listen.

_So Edward what are we doing after this? I was thinking that maybe we could go off on our own, do something a little naughty. I think that it's about time that we let our hormones run wild again. Maybe this time we can actually break the bed. Maybe I will just take advantage of you. Am I distracting you? I hope I am. I just can't bear to see Alice lose to you. Do you know how upset she will be? I do. She won't get over it and will just ask you for a rematch over and over again. _I could see Edward tremble a little bit on Alice's temper if she lost to him. I thought that it was quite funny. I was the only voice that he could hear inside of his head. _So did you really not realize that Renesmee was awake while we were fighting? We are going to have to talk about this. Maybe we should take your car privileges away. Don't you remember when you couldn't wait to hear what was inside my head? Don't you wish that I could turn it off?_

"Just little bit," he said under his breath. Every time he spoke it made everybody in the room jump up a little bit. It surprised me at how jumpy these vampires had become. Wasn't there supposed anything that surprised us?

_Oh yeah, I lost track of my thoughts. We were talking about what we are going to do tonight. Maybe we could do some role-playing. That would be fun. We haven't done that in a while. Remember the last time when I was a nurse?_

I knew that would get him thinking and distract him even more. I put my shield back to myself, as well as everyone but Edward. It was a little bit difficult to mold my shield around him but I still managed to do it, just inches from where he was sitting.

"You're mean," he said very aggravated.

"I know," I said in an upbeat sarcastic tone with a smile on my face. I sat down on the couch and relaxed a little bit. It seemed like I was tired even though I wasn't. Maybe I really did need this training. My shield hadn't failed in the three hours that the tournament progressed. After Edward beat Alice, Nessie excused herself and went to bed. Alice and Jasper went out to hunt and Esme sat with me on the couch as Carlisle and Edward continued with their game. Their game took the longest. It was an hour and half and I was feeling drained but I knew that I had to keep it up to give Carlisle a fighting chance in beating Edward. If anybody could beat Edward it would be Carlisle. He had one of the most expansive minds I had ever seen. Their battle was intense and I didn't see how they kept their concentration for so long. Esme and I got up and stood next to our mates to watch the ending moves. Edward was down to just one pawn and his king while Carlisle had just gotten his queen back. After a few moves of Carlisle chasing Edward around the board, Edward tipped his king over in defeat.

We all rejoiced in Carlisle's victory and I dropped my shield immediately. I fell to the ground exhausted. Edward came over to me and sat on the ground beside me.

"Are you alright," he asked concerned. When I couldn't answer, everybody in the room came rushing over to my side. Carlisle leaned over me on my right side.

"Bella, are you okay? Come on answer me."

I was in shock. Since I had been a vampire, I never quite felt this exhausted.

"Just give her some room," Carlisle said. "She'll be okay, she just needs to compose herself."

Edward ignored him and held my hand in-between his. He then proceeded to play with my wedding ring, twisting it around my finger. I felt every little touch that he made against my skin. It was relaxing as he stoked my hand with his thumb. It made me calm down and I was back to myself in no time.

"Love, are you alright," he asked as I sat up slowly helping me by putting an arm behind my back.

"I'll be fine. That took a lot out of me."

"Of course it did. If you were exhausted you could have taken a break."

"And let you beat Carlisle when he had a fighting chance, no way." A smile crept across my face as I looked across the room to the couch, were my father was sitting. He smiled at me and it reassured me that I would be alright.

"Well when you are back to normal, we are going to talk about that little stunt that you pulled."

"What stunt?"

"Using your mind to distract me. It wasn't fair."

"That's just the way that it would have been if you could actually read my mind. Plus, I like to see you sweat under pressure. It makes me happy."

"I'm glad that my pain caused you pleasure."

"Think of it as pay back for the bed incident."

"Fine we're even."

We got up off of the floor and I felt like my old self again. We said goodnight to Carlisle and Esme and went off to the cottage for the night. I knew then that I would have to keep my promise of role-playing. Maybe I would be a cop with handcuffs. Bad idea, considering my father was a cop and that would not be the best decision. Maybe just relaxing tonight would be a good idea. Edward could tell I wasn't in the mood, so we turned around to go back to the house. Instead of going in the front door, we went through the wide-open wall in our room and resumed the position that we were in earlier.

_Remember to review. By reviewing it makes me really really want to keep writing to keep you all satisfied. Another chapter will be up probably in another 3-4 days, hopefully..._

_-Sabrina_


	9. Groceries

**A/n: I'm having a little bit of writer's block but this is the chapter that came out of it. Thanks for the reviews you guys are sending me and I would really love to see some more. Let me know what ya'll think and what you want to happen. E-mail me or write it in a review. I know what I want to do but I really just need some fillers to go in-between. Thanks and enjoy this new chapter**

Groceries

For the next few weeks Renesmee was hard at work coming up with a sports tournament for the family. Camden and Aedan were more than willing to participate also. They never had a family in this life and they were happy to be joining ours. Both had been doing well so far with our vegetarian diet. They needed to hunt a lot more than any of us, so when a group would go hunting, they would tag along. Their eyes were already starting to dilute the red. I've always been a vegetarian and I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to feed on humans and then suddenly cut it off. It was now easier to understand Jasper's trouble when it was happening right in front of me.

When Renesmee asked me for my credit car, I got scared. Normally I wouldn't have given it to her but she said it was for the tournament so I gave in. She was going to buy stuff for the tournament but she wouldn't specify what. When she was out filling up all the cars, I went down to her room to do a little bit of snooping. I found clothes everywhere but they weren't hers. She had everybody's including Aedan's and Camden's. I was confused of why she had hijacked everybody's clothes but then realized that she probably needed their measurements. Great, she turned something that was supposed to be fun into a fashion show, leave it to my daughter.

Alice was also hard at work at a surprise for Renesmee. She was very secretive and wouldn't tell anybody what she was up to. It was freaking me out. I felt like I was alone because everybody had their own projects.

Esme was flying back and forth between Forks and New York trying to set up our new house. She had found a house, a beautiful one out in the woods. She, however, had all but torn the house down. She was customizing the inside to fit our needs and the outside as well. I think that she was trying to make it look more like our home in Forks but it would never be the same. Open floor plans downstairs with two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and open living space, 5 bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement for Renesmee. The back wall of the house was all glass as well as the west-facing wall. That's about all I could understand from the blueprints.

"Esme," I asked knocking on her office door.

"Come in sweetie."

I walked in and closed the door behind me. There were blueprints, and sketches everywhere with a few fabric, paint and floor samples scattered through out. It was very chaotic for Esme's study.

"You needed to see me," I asked not sure what was going on.

"Yeah I just wanted to know what you and Edward wanted in your room."

"Oh…umm…just some bookshelves, some cd cases with a cd player and speakers, a bed and maybe a couch."

"Do you want an open wall or a closed?"

"Open preferably."

"Alright and Renesmee likes the basement?"

"Yes she does. It gives her a little bit of privacy with so many people living in one place."

"Well there is an extra bedroom upstairs incase she wants to be closer to us."

"You don't even need my help do you?"

"I just wanted to know your opinions. This house is driving me crazy. Nothing is coming together right, the contractor is an absolute idiot and can't do anything when I'm not there apparently. The house isn't even close to ready."

"Esme, if worse comes to worse, we'll start school in the beginning of the 2nd semester as freshman and sophomores instead of sophomores and juniors. Everything will be fine."

"But I don't want Nessie to miss out."

"Don't worry about her. Right now this whole tournament thing is distracting her. Esme, you are going to have a heart attack if you keep this up."

She looked up at me from the blueprints and put her head in her hands. Esme was stressed, that was clear enough. She was always so calm, cool and collected and it was scary to see her like this.

"Are you always like this before a move?"

"Yeah. There is a lot that goes into it. It's even more complicated because of our age. The older we get the more complicated that it becomes. We try not to go to the same place twice and we can only live in the north, which is not always the easiest thing to overcome. And then trying to find a place for Carlisle to work and a place to live that will suite our family. And now, with it growing, it gets harder and harder. The contractor thinks that we are crazy needing such a big house and 2 garages."

"We need two garages?"

"Yeah. We have so many cars and Rosalie is obsessed with working on them so there is a main garage and a mechanic's garage. And then the house. There is a lot of space to fill."

"What are we doing about this house?"

"We are keeping it. It will be good for you and Edward to still have a place to call home out here. You were born here, Renesmee was literally born here and we can't get rid of that kind of history. Plus, when you come to visit Jacob, you will have some place to stay."

"If it's going to cost a lot don't worry about it."

"No worries. I'm not worried about that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, very sure."

"Mom, do you want to go out and do something."

"Like what?"

"Anything. We just need to get you out of this space and out of this house. We could just go for a drive. You could drive if you want. I know your car hasn't moved out of the garage."

"I guess it wouldn't be too bad to go to the grocery store." I looked at her puzzled. Who did we need to buy food for? "Keeping up appearances honey."

"Sounds great. I would love to join you, so let's go."

"I've got to get dressed," she said standing up from behind her desk and throwing the swatches of fabric onto the middle of her desk. She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with a light blue tank top.

"You look absolutely fine, come on."

"I don't dress like this in public."

"It's not like you're wearing lingerie, you are wearing what every other person in this town is wearing and you can pull it off a lot better than they can. It might actually make them feel more comfortable."

"Fine, let's go." She grabbed her purse from beside the desk and grabbed her keys out of the drawer and tossed them at me. "You drive. I hate driving."

"Then why the hell did you buy a car?"

"Because I will need to drive, I just don't want to today."

"Alright."

Esme and I then went to the grocery store. I remembered back to when I was human and tried to imitate how to act. Smelling the fresh produce, looking at the colors of the fruit and vegetables and squeezing them to pick the best ones. I tried to ignore all of the people around me, listening to their hushed whispers as we walked by.

"Is it like this every time," I whispered to Esme, quiet enough so that no one else would hear us.

"Yeah they do. They don't understand why all my kids are still living at home."

"Well we were all gone for at least 4 years. We all just got back from school. That's what college grads do until they can find a job."

"This is normal but everybody looks towards us because we are different. Nobody is comfortable with someone who is different from them."

"It's weird but perhaps it is better if they keep their distance."

We walked down aisles, not paying much attention to what we were grabbing and just making it look like we were shopping for a family of 8. We were standing in line when I felt somebody tap on my shoulder. The woman was around 6' feet tall and she had honey brown hair. I then looked at her eyes and they were as gentle as they always had been.

"Angela," I screeched and gave her a huge hug. "Oh my God, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing great. You look so much different."

"I know. I got some mysterious disease on my honeymoon."

"Oh that's too bad but it did wonders. You look beautiful."

"Thanks, so do you. How have you been? What's going on?"

"Nothing much really. I graduated from college a few years ago and got a degree in English literature. Ben and I got married 3 years ago and now we have a son and a daughter on the way."

I looked down to her stomach and noticed a little baby bump on her stomach. I looked at her and smiled.

"Oh my God, congratulations."

"Thanks. How are you and Edward? Hi Esme."

"Hello Angela," she said turning around with a grin on her face. "You look absolutely wonderful."

"Thank you so do you. I love those jeans."

"Thanks."

"So you and Edward," she said turning back to me.

"We are doing great. We just got back from school. I got my bachelor's in business at Dartmouth. We also have a daughter, she's around 3."

"Oh that's so great. I can't believe you two had a kid. You never seemed like you wanted kids."

"Yeah and I wasn't one for marriage either but Edward just makes everything so easy. He is so good to me."

"I could tell from the beginning that there was something different between you two. He had absolutely no interest in anybody and then you showed up. He completely changed at that point. You didn't know how he was before. He didn't talk to anybody and then once you were here, he became friends with us. It was a great change of pace."

"Do you know what else he did? He thought that you were a great friend to me and he liked how sweet you were and he wanted to repay you. He basically made Ben see things in a different light."

"How did he know that I liked him? I never told anybody that."

"He's very good with reading people. He could just tell that you both wanted to be with each other and he just kind of set that into motion."

"I never knew that. Now I appreciate you two even more. I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"We'll have to hang out sometime."

"Of course. How about we do some shopping tomorrow during the day."

"That sounds good. I've got to get some things for the baby."

"Hey and maybe even something for yourself."

"Maybe, I just have to find a babysitter."

"Your mom would be able to do it. Just be persuasive."

"I'm going to try. But I'll see you tomorrow then, with or without baby."

"Sounds good to me."

I gave her a hug and smiled as Esme and I left. When we were in the car she looked over to me.

"What," I asked her. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. I'm just amazed that you told her you had a daughter. What happens if she asks to meet her?"

"I'll show her pictures and say that she is with Edward or Renee took her for the weekend. I have so many excuses for that. I sometimes let it slip out and I've had to cover my own butt a few times."

"But Bella, you really shouldn't be telling everybody that. I mean it's not like you look like you've had a kid."

"Mom, I'm fine, don't worry about it. My life is all that I could ever want. Sure I wish the Renesmee would have been smaller longer but I can't prevent the fact of what her father was when she was conceived. I love her more than anything else in this world, even if my daughter looks more like my twin sister."

"How are you doing with that?"

I started up the car and we drove back to the house. "I'm doing okay. I knew it was coming so I had time to prepare. Every day she got older and I didn't. It's just like life was put on fast-forward for her. I feel more sorry for her because she never got a normal childhood and that's what really bothers me. She never got to go to kindergarten or middle school. She can go to high school but that's all she's ever going to get. I don't know how she really feels because she says that she doesn't resent us and that we are the best parents that she could have. I just wish that she would tell me the truth."

"Maybe she is telling you the truth. She loves who she is and what she is. She loves the fact that she is every bit like you and like Edward. Renesmee is happy with who she is, how she was brought up and the family around her. Sure, sometimes she hates the fact that we are all vampires and that she can't get any privacy but that's just because she is a teenager now. All teenagers go through the phase of wanting to be alone and between our hearing and Edward's mind-reading it is hard for her to have some peace and quiet."

"Did she talk to you about this?"

"A little bit. She wanted me to give her some advice without particularly hurting your feelings. She just needed a friend to talk to, somebody that wasn't her mother. It's not such a bad thing that she is talking to me. If she went to Rosalie it would've been much worse." I sighed and looked down for a moment. If my own daughter couldn't talk to me, what did I possibly do wrong? I could always talk to Renee and Esme no matter what the situation was. Why couldn't my daughter do that with me? Was I her mother and not her friend? "Sweetie, it's fine. She loves you to the end of the earth and she loves the time that she spends with you. But when it comes to something like Jacob it was easier for her to talk to me. She was just doing it so it wouldn't upset you. She never wants to intentionally hurt you Bella. Sometimes she just needs someone to talk to."

"And I guess that's kind of my fault. She's never had any friends except for vampires or shape-shifters. And I feel like I should have socialized her more."

"But you couldn't. You can't blame yourself for that. Now that she is fully matured it will be fine for her to be around people. It's not like she could've been friends with somebody when every day she was getting taller and her hair longer and her body coming into it's shape. You did what you needed to do to protect your daughter and our secret. You did what any mother would do, including myself. If I were in your position I would have done what you did. Keeping people away from her was the best thing to do in that situation."

"Are you sure Esme? I feel like I keep ripping things away from her."

"Trust me, she feels like you give her too much. Every time something bad happens you give her something. You spend a lot of time with her and so does Edward. You guys don't go to work so you can spend all of your time with her. You balance everything wonderfully and she notices that. She notices everything that you do. Even when you go shopping with her, it's something that you hate but she loves it. She knows you hate it but it makes her happy when you suck it up and go with her. Nessie loves spending time with you. It's not something that she just overlooks. She talks about it all the time."

"Thanks mom, I'm sorry about this."

"What?"

"Giving you more problems to think about. This was supposed to be a relaxing trip and I ended up shoving more problems into your head."

"These are not problems, they are family. We are all family and this is what we do for each other. And it did the trick because I forgot all about the house."

"Sorry for bringing it up."

"Don't be sorry. Just help me put all of these away and let me get back to the office. I'm leaving in 3 days to go back up there."

"Will you be back for Jake's wedding? It's in like 2 weeks."

"I will be back for that but then I'm going back up there until the end of August. Hopefully with me there everything will be ready."

"Why don't you take Emmett with you and Rosalie? I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping with the building and the moving of heavy stuff. Emmett likes to help you."

"I know that he does but I wanted it to be a surprise. Maybe though bringing those two with me will help."

"We could all go if you want. Imagine what all of us could do up there."

"Don't you need to be here for Leah?"

"Well I'm sure that we could get all the bridesmaid's shopping done in the next day or two and Rosalie, Alice, Renesmee and I could all come back a few days prior to their wedding to help out."

"That sounds decent. Well, I guess all we can do is ask everybody if they want to come and help out. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. Carlisle still has vacation time and the hospital is going to need time to get used to not having him around anymore. It might actually work out perfectly."

"Alright family meeting then."

I turned up the drive way and drove up the 3 mile driveway and parked outside of the house. I didn't really want to try to squeeze the car into the little space that it had in the garage. We carried all of the groceries in on one trip, which was one great thing about having super strength. This would have been useful when I was human. However, it also would have made me lazy so I guess it was a good thing that I didn't have this much strength when I was a human. Esme and I put the groceries away and Renesmee came into help halfway through. I put my arm around her and kissed her forehead. Good thing she had my height because otherwise I would be embarrassed that my daughter was taller than I was.

After we were finished we called another house meeting. Carlisle was at work and we all sat down at the dining room table. It was so weird how often we had been using it lately. More than we had in the past. We all took our normal seats and Esme started.

"Plans for the new house have been going along great. It's, however, fallen behind on schedule a little bit. I'm heading up there in a few days and I was wondering if you guys would like to come with me to help out a little bit. I wouldn't ask if there was any other choice but there is so much heavy lifting and decorating still needing to be done."

"I'm in," Emmett blurted out. "Anything to use these muscles. They need to get some use." He chuckled a little bit and looked at Rosalie.

"I guess I could do some electrical work. If the contractor is an idiot then I'm sure that his team isn't much better."

"And I could go shopping," Alice said. "I've been wanting to do a little bit of interior design I just never had a point to."

"I will help too," Renesmee answered. "I could learn a lot from you guys."

"I've got down the sheetrock," Edward said. "I helped do this house so I guess I wouldn't mind doing this house either. Emmett could always be used as a jack too when we demo the walls."

"I'm going to," I said quietly. I knew that everybody was in at that point.

"I would love to see how you guys do everything," Aedan said. "I've never been involved with a remodel or anything so I would love to come. I'm sure that Camden feels the same way."

Camden nodded and looked around the table. He was still quiet around us. It was weird that he hadn't warmed up to us yet but I took it as his personality to not be too involved with anything that was going on around him. Aedan had apparently taken the leadership role and he was fine with Aedan speaking for him.

"I'm in," Jasper said after everyone was finished.

"So it's settled," Esme finished. "We are going to fire those lazy people and make it a family event. I've got to call Carlisle and tell him. Then arrange with the airport a few more tickets and possible a hotel for all of our clothes and such."

She stood up quickly then.

"Wait," Renesmee said. "I have some news." Esme sat back down and listened for her to finish her thoughts. "I have all the stuff ready for the tournament and the clearing is a good place for it. Alice, when would be the best time."

Alice closed her eyes and concentrated trying to find the weather report. "It will be all good in 2 days. There is a thunderstorm just around the corner."

"Alright. I'm going to the clearing then and setting up. Uncle Emmett, come with me."

"I would love to squirt," he said smiling.

"And later tonight when we get back I have some stuff for everybody so come down to my room and we will go through it all. That's all I have to say."

Renesmee smiled and we all dispersed from the table. I went over to her.

"Before you go anywhere can we go downstairs and talk."

"Sure."

We went down to her room and there were boxes everywhere.

"What the heck did you buy?'

"Uniforms for everybody."

"What?"

"Well for each sport there are two teams. I randomly picked names and teams and then coordinated the colors for whatever sport it was. The baseball uniforms are in one box, football in another, then soccer in one and basketball in the last. Each person has a personalized jersey and number."

"So that's why you were asking everybody for their favorite number?"

"Yep. You are 13, daddy is 20, uncle Emmett is 69, Aunt Rosalie is 1, Alice is 99, Jasper is 33, Carlisle is 6, Esme is 23, Aedan is 8, Camden is 83 and I'm number 10. Do you want to see?"

"No, I'll just wait until tonight when everybody else gets to see them."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to know if you hate me for the way that you were raised. I hate the fact that I never socialized you and I feel really bad for that."

"Mom, there was nothing that you could do to help or prevent that. I've never been too mad about that. Sure, sometimes I wish I could go to a sleepover at a friend's house but it's not something that I resent about my childhood. You guys did all that you could possible do and I've met a lot of nice people and I wouldn't want any other life than the one that I have."

"Are you sure Nessie? I feel awful that I can't help as much as I want to."

"I'm sure that a lot of parents say that but now that I'm fully grown, or almost at least, then there is nothing to be worried about. I am going to be like every normal teenager now. I just will have parents the same age as I am, I will always be this way as half a vampire but that doesn't matter. We can all blend in with the best of them and there is nothing to be pissed off at you about anymore. Mom, I love you and I appreciate everything that you do for me, even the small things. So I don't want you to worry about it anymore alright? I am absolutely fine and there is nothing to worry about. Just worry about going to high school again. That's what you should be worried about."

"And you best be prepared for school."

"I am."

"Now you go with Emmett and get this stuff situated. I have a shopping date tomorrow with a friend from high school and I have to go see Leah so I will talk to you later tonight alright?"

"Sure not a problem. I love you mommy."

"I love you too sweetie."

I gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. She ran up the stairs with lightning speed and I went upstairs to see Edward still sitting at the table. He saw me and came towards me. He kissed my head and took my hand leading me over to the piano.

"Now it's time that you learn how to play this thing."

"You're finally going to teach me," I asked. I had wanted this for so long. I was never musically inclined but maybe all of that changed once I became a vampire.

"Yep now pay attention."

**A/N: So what do you think? Let me know. What do you want to happen? I might take in that direction. I'm also wondering if I'm dragging this out too much but just let me know, good or bad. Thanks.**


	10. Imprinting

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your advice, I really appreciate it. I also have a basic, really basic outline for the next 5 chapters at least so I will be trying to write as much as possible. I've had a lot of tests this week so I'm trying to keep it up. Anyway left me know how I'm doing. Thanks for reading, leave a review and enjoy.**

Imprint

The piano lesson was going great so far. My attententiveness really seemed to help in this case. If I had ever tried to learn the piano as a human then it would have been extremely hard. I just never had the coordination or the memory to really understand any of this. Edward was very patient with me as he slowly walked more through all of the keys and some basic jingles. I was so wrapped up with learning the piano that I didn't realize anything that was going on around me. It seemed absolutely silent except for the murmurs of Edward's voice and the strokes from the piano keys. I looked at Edward in amazement, much like I did every day. The feeling that I had for him, for his beauty, would never go away. Alice tapped on my shoulder when I had understood the first few keys of Chopsticks. It was really complicated but I seemed to understand the basic gist of it.

"Yes Alice?"

"You are doing really well Bella but we have to go soon."

"Where are we going?"

"Well I called Leah and told her that we were all leaving to go to New York and she said that today would be as good as any to go searching for bridesmaids dresses. She found this place and it's where she got her dress. She figured that maybe we would be able to find something there."

"I guess I have to go," I told Edward. He nodded and he kissed my forehead.

"Go ahead love, I'll go help Nessie and Emmett. It will give me something to do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah no problem."

"And," Alice added in. "Jacob is coming with her. I think that he misses being here so he's coming to hang out."

I nodded and stood up. "What should I wear?"

"Just some jeans and a t-shirt. Also grab some heels to see how they look with the dress. Classic black stilettos will do just fine."

"I don't have any of that here."

"Then you better get moving to the cottage and grab that."

"Fine."

I kissed Edward goodbye and ran off to the cottage. I was glad that Edward hadn't come with me because if he did I wouldn't have wanted to leave. I opened the door and went to my monstrous closet. I looked through all of my shoes and grabbed a pair of black stilettos with rhinestones going over the toe strap. I then just put on a plain light blue t-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans with white sneakers. I threw my hair up into a loose bun and sighed heavily looking in the mirror. I didn't want to outshine Leah on her wedding day but it might just have been like Alice and Rosalie on my wedding day when I was a measly human. However, if Alice did such a great job on me then maybe Leah could us her expertise. I would talk to her about that.

I grabbed all of my stuff, including a little black clutch with glitter embellishments and put a credit card and my license in there. I then ran with my shoes and my clutch in my hands back to the house. There was a black sedan outside of the house and I knew that it was Jacob and Leah. They finally got a new car. I walked into the house and everybody there was sitting in the living room chatting.

"Hey guys."

I went to Jacob and Leah and gave them a hug. The heat that radiated off of their bodies was intense. I almost couldn't bear it because my skin was so cold. It felt like taking a blistering hot shower after being out in the snow all day. I pulled away and went to sit on Edward's lap, who was sitting in the chair adjacent to them.

"Hey," Leah said. "You look nice."

"Thanks," I murmured. I looked at Jake and I could tell in his eyes how happy he was. He had his arm tightly around Leah's shoulder. It looked like he never wanted to let go of her and I was happy for him. He finally had found someone that he could feel like that with, the same way that I felt with Edward. The ever lingering feeling of not wanting to ever leave their side, no matter for how long.

"How are you doing Bells," Jacob asked. It still shocked me at his voice. I hadn't heard it so long and the way that he said my name. It wasn't filled with the love and passion that it used to, which made me feel even better.

"I'm doing great, I get to go shopping. How exciting."

"You don't have to go," Leah said.

"No, I promised you that I would be a bridesmaid and if that means putting on frilly dresses all day, then that's what it will take."

"I promise that there will be nothing frilly. I don't do frilly."

"Good, do we get to see your dress?"

"Yeah. They said that they needed to re-fit it. They just want to make sure that the adjustments that they are making are going to work, so when we get there I will try it on again."

"How are you doing keeping it a secret from Jake?"

"I don't phase much. I'm always thinking about it so I try not to let Jake see it."

"Yeah that would probably be best."

"Will Renesmee be joining us?"

"No, she's off with Emmett setting up for a family sports tournament in a few days."

"That sounds like fun."

"It's something to occupy her mind. She gets very bored very easy. I think that she's color coordinated 5 times in the past month."

"That's bad."

"I know. So we should be getting going? We'll take Edward's car."

"You're taking my car," he whispered in my ear. "And who is driving?"

"Alice. You're car has enough room for all of us and it's the fastest."

"Fine. You twisted my arm."

I leaned my head towards him and kissed his lips. He hugged me tight against his stone body and didn't want to let go of me. I also didn't want him to let go. But I knew that I needed to. I grabbed the keys out of his pocket and escaped from his grip. I lightly tossed the keys at Alice and all of the girls stood up. I sat in the passenger seat while Alice took the driver's seat and Leah and Rosalie in the back. I felt bad for Leah. She was stuck in a car with 3 vampires. The smell for her must have been horrible. Even her smell was overpowering to me enclosed in the small sedan. It was nice though, to be able to be out with the girls, without my husband or my daughter. It was like a girls night out. Man if only we could drink alcohol. It would be fun to try and get drunk but I would be afraid of what it would do to my body and if there would be any permanent affects. It took us no time to get a small bridal boutique called Brocklind's in Seattle. It had a lot of beautiful dresses. Leah looked absolutely amazing in her dress.

It was very simple and very elegant. She looked absolutely gorgeous in it. There were double spaghetti straps with a v-neck. All the fabric bustled together just underneath her chest and held for a few inches before flowing out. It was cross-pleated with a chiffon bodice and skirt and simple beading around her upper body. The fabric then went out into a court train. It wasn't very long but the dress was very much Leah. It was simplistic but yet very gorgeous on her tall, lean body. It took us a while to find the perfect bridesmaid dresses. Her maid of honor Emily met us at the bridal boutique and she had the most say in what was going on. Leah's wedding color was a dark blue and it was during the summer so she wanted something that was knee length. We all decided on a lovely blue silk dress with a sweetheart topped. Like Leah's dress it criss-crossed around our upper body and then pleated out to just below the knees. It looked great against Emily's darker skin and our pale skin. I knew that Edward would love our dresses and especially the way that I looked in it. We were only there for about an hour and half and ordered the dresses that we needed in the sizes that we needed.

**Renesmee's POV**

"Thanks for helping me uncle Emmett."

"No problem kiddo. Anything to get these muscles working."

"I still appreciate it though."

"I said that it was cool. I think that it's really great that you are organizing all of this. I think it's cool."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Carlisle's been on us a lot lately about doing more as a family and I think that this is suiting our needs more than mini-golf is. At least this way we can use all of our strength." Emmett laughed as he hearled a pole into the ground. It was very tall, probably around 13 feet. It was one of the basketball nets for the next day. I climbed up the pole and attached one of the nets. We were playing basketball at an old house in the woods. The driveway was a perfect place to play basketball on for our family. Then soccer, football and baseball were all going to be played in the clearing.

I liked the fact that I was doing something for the family. And it also made me happy that my family was going to enjoy it. Emmett and I had gone back to the clearing to set up the soccer nets. I was trying to try the nets in place, sitting on the top of the goal, when a figure emerged from the forest. No, it was 2. I jumped down to stand behind Emmett.

"Nessie," a familiar voice called. It was Jake.

"Jake," I screeched and ran over to him. I got to see him again. I was sure after the last time that I had seen him that it was all talk and that I still wouldn't see him. He hadn't been by the house at all in the past few weeks. When I reached him I threw my arms around his neck and I smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured that since your mother and Leah are off that maybe we could go for a walk and talk."

I then heard daddy growl.

"Daddy, knock it off. Uncle Emmett is going to need your help. I will be fine."

He growled again when Jacob put his arm around my shoulders and we walked off into the woods.

"I'll race you," Jacob said quietly.

"Oh you're on."

I took off towards nothing. I didn't know where we were running to but it was fun none-the-less to be competing against Jake. It was like when I was younger all over again. I slowed down as I was coming into a very small clearing. He then caught up to me.

"Girl you didn't tell me that you got so fast."

"I know but maybe you just got slower."

Jake put his hands on his face and pouted. It was funny seeing his face in that way. He looked like a little child.

"You know this place is familiar."

"Why?"

"Because one day a long time ago, your mother was up here and it was when I had just become a wolf. She was in a lot of danger because she was still human and another vampire was about to kill her. The pack and I came here to help her. She looked so frightened. It was when your father left."

"Why am I just learning about this?"

"Your mother never mentioned this."

"No she did. I'm just talking about when daddy left. She just told me about it and now you are."

"I just think that we were trying to shield you and we didn't want you being mad at your father."

"I was never mad at him. I understood why he left and I feel bad for how my mother felt after he left. But now that I know that they can't live without each other it makes me happy to know that my parents aren't going to separate."

"I guess that is a good thing."

"It is a great thing. There is too much in the world of people now where the parents get divorced and the child is stuck in-between the whole thing."

"Well no worries for you then. When the Cullens mate, they mate for life."

"So Jake what did you want to talk about?"

"I was just wondering how you have been."

"I've been good."

"Good," he stated under his breath. Was Jake nervous?

"Come on Jake, what's going on? Just spit it out already."

"I just thought that all of my feelings went away."

"For my mother," I questioned. It didn't sound like he was talking about my mother that way. I knew that he always had feelings for my mom. But I figured that after all of these years that something would have clicked in his head. For God sakes, he was getting married in a month.

"Well no."

"Then who? You can tell me."

"I'm not sure that I can."

"Spit it out Jake," I yelled at him. Jes, I sounded like my mother in every single way.

"When you were born I kind of made a promise to always be there for you, to give you anything that you wanted. Usually that would turn into something more like the other members of the pack so I was hoping that it would happen with you too. I wanted to take care of you when you were younger but now you are all grown up. I just don't think that I can be around you too much anymore. I can't do this," he confessed as he started to get up.

"Jake wait, what are you talking about? You and mom are keeping a secret from me and I don't like."

"I imprinted on you and I know that means absolutely nothing to you but it basically means that you and I supposed to be together in one form or the other. It's like a love at first sight thing."

"How could you do that to me," I snapped. "How could you do that to my mother? To my father? Why would you do that?"

"I can't control it Nessie. When you were gone it was hard. I wanted to be your best friend and have a shoulder for you to lean on but now, that I have seen you and your all grown up, I can't hind my feelings for you."

"But Jake you are getting married. That's not nothing. You can't just tell me that. I'm still so young and I could never see you in that way. You are like Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper. I just can't ever see you as more that. I love you but I can't ever be with you. I don't have those kinds of feelings for you. I'm sorry."

I looked at him and I saw a tear form in his eye and drop gently down his cheek. I didn't want to see him sad but I knew that I couldn't ever be with him. So this is why my mother didn't want me to come back here. I understood now and I loved my mother for keeping me away for as long as she did. I felt horrible though. I couldn't explain it. I wanted to run over to him and give a hug but I had to resist that urge and let him leave. He got up and ran through the forest. I took out my phone and called my mother.

**Bella's POV**

When we got back to the house, Jacob was sitting in his car waiting for Leah. He looked really upset and I didn't know why. I wanted to go and ask him if he was alright. Leah apparently noticed his mood and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I've got it," she said. It was as if she could read my mind. I just didn't want to let her be the one to comfort him that was always my job. "I'll see you guys August 6th then for the bachelorette party."

She got into the driver's seat and pulled away down the driveway. I went upstairs to Edward's room and mine and he wasn't there. Then my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Nessie," I asked concerned. I heard her crying on the other end. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"Can you come see me?"

"Where are you?"

"A meadow. Jake said that it's where he saved your life."

"I'll be there soon."

I jumped out of the window the minute that I heard 'a meadow.' I knew exactly where she was. It took me a few minutes to get there, only having the vague human memories as my guide. When I arrived in the meadow I saw Renesmee sitting on a rock with her head in her hands. She looked so upset and it reminded me of Jacob sitting in the car. Then everything all clicked at once. They were the reason the other one was crying. I walked over to her and she jumped into my arms and tears started to drenched my shirt. I rubbed her back and cooed her, rocking her back and forth. I soon heard her sobs come to a minimum and her breathing slowed, into a steady pace. I looked down to her and she was sleeping, snoring quietly in her sleep. I placed her hand in mine to look into her dreams. They were empty and blank; all black with no images whatsoever. After a while, there was one picture kept popping into her head. It was an image of Jacob sitting across from her with a tear in his eye. She started breathing heavier but it stopped once the image was gone. She was in a deep, dreamless sleep. I took out my phone to tell Edward where we were and he was there minutes later. He placed a blanket over Renesmee and wrapped his arms around us.

We spent the night in the meadow that I loved so much. It was a place of happiness and it was Edward's and mine. But the thing that sucked was that it was where Renesmee felt heart break. I had wondered what happened last night and what Jacob had said that made her so upset. I was ready to run to La Push and kick his ass for hurting my daughter. I toyed with the idea all night but went against it thinking that she would want me to be there in the morning. She ended up sleeping until the sun rose over the horizon. Great, it was sunny. That meant that I couldn't go shopping with Angela. That disappointed me too, I was really looking forward to that. Edward's arms never disconnected from us all night. I hated that I needed to comfort my daughter because I hated seeing her hurt. I only saw her cry two other times; when Charlie died and when we left Forks. But they were both unpreventable.

Renesmee stirred and I didn't release her. I wanted to hold onto her for forever. She smiled at Edward and I and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and we all sat there, with our arms around each other, for a few minutes. Renesmee got up and stretched in the sunlight. It actually felt nice on my skin, like it always had before. I was just happy to see the Renesmee wasn't crying anymore.

**Renesmee's POV**

I felt something warm hit my skin and I knew that it was time to wake up. I was comforted in my dreamless state but I knew that it was time to wake up. I opened my eyes and saw both of my parents. They were holding me so tightly. It felt amazing. I smiled up at them and daddy kissed my forehead. He always knew how to calm me down, almost as well as Uncle Jasper. I sat and enjoyed the feeling for a few minutes. I then got up peacefully and stretched. Alright, sleeping outside was not for me. I ran my fingers through my hair and it was knotted beyond belief. I looked at my mom and dad and their concerned eyes. Jacob was not who I thought he was. I didn't want to see him hurt but I had to do what I had to do. I needed to tell them.

"I was upset because of Jake," I said looking at them breaking the silence. Dad's hands balled up into fists and a low growl escaped from his mouth. "He told me about the whole imprinting thing last night and he told me how mature I looked and stuff like that. I told him that I didn't feel anything more than a brother, an uncle of sorts. He was just really upset. A tear fell from his face and he walked away. I felt awful that I hurt Jake and I just wanted to help him but I let him go. But now, I am fine." Mom looked at me like she didn't believe me and dad just nodded his head. He could see inside my head so he knew how I was truly feeling. "Really mom, I'm okay. I'm still hurt but I will live. Now lets go home, we have some things to take care of."

Dad broke into a run and mom and I followed after him. That was the one and only time that I was going to talk about the situation with Jake. I was over it!

**A/N: PLEASE review and give me some feedback**

**What do you want to happen next?**

**Any ideas for the Volturi to come here? I need a little help with that.**

**Thanks so much for continueing to read this**

**It makes me feel like writing when I get so many people reviewing my work.**

**I really appreciate it.**

**Love ya'll**

**-Sabrina**


	11. Sports

**A/N: I just needed to edit this so sorry if you thought there was a new chapter.**

** Apparently there has been a glitch with fanfiction because i haven't been able to log in for days. This chapter has been ready for quite a while and it is the long awaited Sports tournament. **

**Meaning you JohnCullen, you've been waiting for it, I know you have. **

**I don't watch basketball though, so it is a little fast through that. It's time to see who teams with who and who takes everything a little too seriously. Also more information is found out about Aedan's past. So I will be updating in a few more days. I have just a little bit of writers block. **

**So I had a total Bella moment this morning. Me and her are probably the only two people who are taking out the trash and slip on the ice. It was quite funny but very painful so my back is preventing me from doing much at all. I also just got a job yesterday (yippee) so chapters will probably start getting spaced out a little bit. Sorry. Alright sorry for my ramblings, the long awaited sports tournament, ENJOY!!!**

Sports

"Hey honey," I said to Renesmee as I entered her room. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay I guess."

"I'm sorry that Jake is being an ass. I have personal experience with that one."

"Why did you never tell me," she inquired. I tried to think of something to tell her but I decided the truth was the best idea.

"I just didn't want to see you hurt. You and Jacob are such good friends and I didn't want you to be upset at him. It's not like I could prevent what he did anymore than you could. Trust me, I flipped out too."

"Really?"

"It was just after you were born and I came downstairs after my pain had gone away and I wanted to see you. I then saw your father's smirk and the way that Jacob was looking at you and I instantly knew. Aunt Rosalie had to take you away because I was so upset."

"I'm sorry for last night."

"It's not that big of a deal honestly. We all have those kind of nights."

"Even you," she questioned.

"Yep even me, a long time ago when I could still cry, I used to cry all the time. It's a natural instinct for us to cry."

"But I don't want to be weak." I looked at her and smiled.

"Honey, you are anything but weak."

"Really?"

"Really." I put my hand on her shoulder. "You are an extremely strong young woman and there is nothing wrong with crying once in a while. You have put up with a lot of stuff and you don't complain about it. You are perfectly justified in crying this time. Just don't let the crying get to you."

"I'll try not to."

"Come on, we should get hunting."

"Alright."

Prep was then underway the entire night leading up to the sports tournament. It was like we were all preparing for battle. Everyone had gone out to hunt the night before all out in different packs. The night before we had all gathered and Renesmee carried up the boxes from her room. We all sat at the dining room table and waited for her to pull out the jerseys. For each sport there was a red team and a blue team and all members were pulled at random before Nessie ordered the uniforms. And oddly enough the teams were mostly even. Each of the four sports had a mediator because of the odd number of our family. The mediator was given a referee shirt for that particular sport, or umpire, and the same pants as everybody else. Renesmee thought of absolutely everything. Alice was so proud of her niece. Apparently Alice used to do the same thing until everybody got sick of it. But somehow with Renesmee doing it they were more tolerant then they were before. Alice would always find a plus side to anything that involved her niece and clothes. That child had more clothes than anybody had ever seen.

The teams were then put on a piece of poster board that was brought with us to the large opening that we normally used for our sports. The first sport that we were playing was baseball. That was good game to start with. It was relaxed enough and there wasn't much contact. The mediator was Esme and the teams were as follows:

Red Team Blue Team

Jasper Aedan

Bella Camden

Rosalie Carlisle

Emmett Alice

Renesmee Edward

The baseball game ended up being really intense. The score was tied at 1-1 most of the game. Emmett had gotten a homerun and scored the Red teams only run. Meanwhile, Carlisle, who had gotten a double, was brought in by Edward's single into deep left field. It was the bottom of the 8th inning and my team was up to beat. I had gotten a hit into right field and made it to first without too much of a problem. As Alice released the pitch, I took off trying to steal second. Edward was standing in my way so I slide into his legs, causing him to fall to the ground and completely miss the throw from Camden. Aedan got the ball before I could get up and get to third.

"Jes love, did you really need to do that," Edward asked getting up and brushing the dirt off of his baseball pants. I really needed to thank Renesmee for those pants. They made him look even better than he normally did. The men were wearing basic major league baseball uniforms with tight white baseball pants with Cullens stitched on the left hip of the pants with a white button-up jersey and long sleeve shirts with the colors of their team.

"Yeah I did, sorry."

He came over to me and put his arm around my waist. "Damn, our daughter had good taste," he whispered in my ear. He brushed the dirt off of my butt and smacked it as he walked away. The women had the same pants as the guys with horizontally striped socks. Our jerseys were very form fitting, hitting every curve of our upper bodies just right with a v-neck top. We all needed a shirt underneath to keep ourselves decent. Rosalie was next up and she ended up sending a shot into center field. It ended up going into the trees but Aedan climbed the tree and grabbed it while it was still in the air. I advanced to 3rd as he hit the ground. There were now two outs and Emmett was up to bat. He took a swing and missed the first time. The second pitch came and he swung again. Miss, strike 2.

"Come on Emmett," I yelled from 3rd base. "Hit me in."

"Go Uncle Emmett," Renesmee yelled from the on deck circle. "You can do it."

Emmett dug his feed in further and prepared for the next pitch. Alice wound up the pitch and flung it right down the center. Emmett nailed a ground ball past Carlisle at shortstop and I ran home safely. Now we were up by a run. Renesmee stepped up to the plate and hit a soft bunt down the third base line. Alice ran to it and collided with Camden and both ended up on the ground laughing with the ball in-between them. Emmett managed to get to 3rd and Renesmee to 2nd. Jasper was then back up to bat. He ended up hitting a pop fly to right-center field and Aedan performed a diving catch to end the inning. I went to the pitcher's mound as Edward to his place at the plate.

"Pitcher's got a big butt, pitcher's got a big butt," he chanted from the batter's box. I just pretended not to listen while Emmett was laughing his ass off in left field. I turned around and shook my butt at him before returning to the pitcher's mound. I flew a fastball right around his waistline. He jumped out of the way and looked at me.

"Don't mess with the pitcher."

He just shook it off and stepped back in. I ended up striking him out with 3 pitches, quite a feat for me. I apparently was a good pitcher, who would have known. Aedan was up next and he got a high line drive to left field. Emmett ran for it and caught it before it could get past him. Alright two more outs and we had them. I was never one for sports but this was fun. Camden would be my last victim. I threw him two pitches before he caught the tail end of one. It was a grounder straight down the third base line. Emmett ran for it while I covered second base. I could hear Camden coming and I was hoping that I had the ball before he got there. I caught Emmett's throw and went to tag Camden. I hand my hands out with the ball and Camden slide right into my ankle. I toppled over and landed on my face.

"Bella do you have it," I heard Esme yell. I held the ball in the air and smiled. "You're out," she yelled. "The red team wins."

I smiled as Edward came over to me.

"Love are you alright?"

"I'm good but you are going to get it." He looked at me confusingly. "Pitcher's got a big butt," I mocked with a condescending tone. "Real original. You should know never to tell your wife that she has a big butt. That is rule numero uno."

"I didn't know you knew Spanish."

I smacked him in the chest and was then raised into the air onto Emmett's shoulder. He ran with me on his shoulders around the bases doing a victory lap. Leave it to Emmett to make a victory lap.

We all sat down on the sidelines as Carlisle picked up the bases and Emmett put up the field goals for football. I was amazed to see the height of the posts for one and for two the length between the two was so short. I guess that we really did need to modify each sport for our liking. Renesmee smiled widely as we all went our separate ways to get changed into our football uniforms. Shiny white football pants, no pads, and mesh football jerseys with our number on the front and back with our name on the back. I put my hair up into a ponytail and put eye black underneath my eyes. I occasionally saw football players use it. I didn't see the point of it but I thought that it was cool. Renesmee took my lead and then Alice followed. She ended up putting a star around her left eye. She looked like one of the members of KISS. Renesmee was going to be the mediator in this game and I was pleasantly happy about this. I didn't want to see her getting tackled to her death. She was still more fragile than the rest of us. The teams for football were as follows:

Red Team Blue Team

Bella Edward

Aedan Camden

Carlisle Jasper

Emmett Alice

Rosalie Esme

The game started off nice and slow and after the other team got their first touchdown the mood of game changed. Everybody was getting a little bit more physical. However, it was funny seeing Alice try to knock Emmett over. It made the whole game more bearable. I didn't really like playing this and I would have rather been on the sidelines.

In the fourth quarter the score was 30-27 in favor of the red team. Edward threw the ball to Alice and she caught it right in front of Emmett. He went to grab her and missed. She danced around him while he was on the ground. He nailed the ground when she escaped his grasp. She danced up and down in the end zone and I laughed at Emmett. The time on the clock was up and the Blue team had been victorious.

"Nice try Emmett," Alice said cockily as she walked passed him. She tossed the ball into his awaiting arms and he was fuming. He gritted his teeth and balled his hands up. The ball was deflated before it hit the ground. I laughed a little bit before Rosalie went up to him and tried to calm him down. Edward ran up to me and tackled me lightly to the ground. He hovered his body over mine for a moment.

"Hey the game is over," I said.

"I know but I didn't get a chance to tackle you."

"Tell you what, you can tackle me later."

"Oh you are naughty," he said leaning down and kissing my neck. He kissed my neck all the way up to my ears and made his way across my jaw until he reached me lips. I smiled at him and we heard coughing in the background. Alice had her arm around Jasper's waste and Emmett was sitting on the ground next to us.

"Okay gross," Renesmee said.

"Sorry honey. At least you know that your parents still love each other."

"Ewwwww, ewwwwww, ewwwwww."

She covered her eyes and walked away to the forest. She seemed to be in a better mood today than she had been in the past 2 days. I was glad that this distraction was working in more than one way. We took a half an hour break in-between football and soccer. We all needed to let our emotions calm down before soccer began.

"So Aedan, did you play soccer before you were changed," Rosalie asked. She seemed genuinely curious.

"Yeah I was an all-American all 4 years of high school. How did you know?"

"The way that you are shaped. It's easy to tell."

"I also ran track and played basketball. I was definitely an athlete in high school."

"Well maybe you and Edward could race sometime. Maybe somebody will finally beat him."

On second hand, I think that Rosalie was just trying to size up the competition for the next round of play. This time Camden was the mediator and the teams were as follows:

Red Team Blue Team

Bella Carlisle

Edward Esme

Alice Emmett

Aedan Rosalie

Jasper Renesmee

I think that we all knew going into it what team was going to win. With Jasper's ability to weave in and out through the competition, Edward's speed and Aedan's background with soccer, it was just a matter of time. Alice and I held our own also. I beat out Emmett on a few moves and Alice ended up slide tackling him. I was just having fun watching Emmett squirm as he couldn't get control of himself. He was still upset at the football game. Esme barely even played. She kicked the ball when it came to her and she ran up the field one time and kicked the ball in the goal right past me. She jumped in the air for joy and her team circled around her giving her hugs all around. Esme was never one for sports and only played because of the family. She really was the mother of the group. The score ended up being 6-3 in favor of the red team.

Edward came up to me after the game and put his arm around my shoulder. He leaned in closely to whisper in my ear "It was nice of you to let Esme score." I nodded at him and I did let her get the goal. "She was extremely excited about it. She's so proud of herself." I smiled as we walked to our next location. We went to the basketball court that was a driveway from an old house that used to exist there. Now there was actually a full team for each team. Basketball was played 5-on-5 and it was nice to have the right size teams. Rosalie was the mediator, which was a good thing. She didn't want to chip her nail polish even more than it already was.

Red Team Blue Team

Jasper Bella

Renesmee Esme

Aedan Carlisle

Alice Camden

Edward Emmett

Emmett seemed to be on a mission the entire basketball game. He ended up being the leading scorer between the two teams. He was trying to prove that he could do something. Everybody knew that he was good at sports but he had gotten out maneuvered all day. He wasn't happy being a loser. Since he was on so much of a mission, my team really didn't need to do much. I basically stood there the entire game, passing the ball when it came my way. I did get 2 baskets. It was a very long game. The final score was 101 for the blue team and 90 for the red team. Aedan didn't stand a chance when it came to Emmett's ego. It was a quality that took some time to get used to.

We packed up all of the equipment and brought it back to the house. It took a few trips but we were home by sunset. Renesmee went down to her room after saying goodnight to everybody to take a shower and then go to sleep. We would be leaving for New York in the morning and I had yet to pack for it. Edward and I went to the cottage after saying goodnight to everybody and packed up our things. Just 1 suitcase apiece was all that was needed. We would be there for only 2 weeks before we came back here for Jacob's wedding. I was wondering if Leah still even wanted us to be there after what happened the other night.

Edward and I spent the night together, alone in the cottage. We did what any couple would do that didn't have their child for night. The morning came all to soon as the faint sunlight shone through the window. I reluctantly got out of bed and went into my closet to get dressed for the day. I pulled on a pair of black sweatpants, a plain dark blue t-shirt and a pair of sneakers. I grabbed a sweatshirt on the way out and joined Edward in our bedroom. He was already dressed to go in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a light gray pea coat and sneakers.

"So do I look like a human ready for a long flight?"

"Of course darling, you look absolutely adorable. Almost as sexy as you did yesterday."

He came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. He kissed my neck and made his way down to collarbone.

"Edward, we can't do this."

"Why not?"

"Our flight leaves in a few hours. We have to meet everyone at the house."

"Errrg."

"No come on," I said pulling away his interlocked arms and grabbing his hands. He reluctantly picked up our suitcases and we were off to go to the house. When we got there Esme was standing outside.

"What's wrong," Edward asked. He was once again speaking out loud only for my needs.

"Nothing, the driver is late. He was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago."

"Maybe he missed the turnoff," I interjected. "It happens to humans, trust me. It's almost impossible to get here if you don't know where you are going." I went over to her and gave her a hug. "It will be fine. We won't miss the flight, I promise. Why aren't we just driving ourselves?"

"Because none of these babies wants to leave their car in the long-term parking. They are afraid that their precious cars will be damaged."

Esme looked over to Edward and he chuckled. Apparently this was all his idea. The bus that we were taking to the airport showed up 15 minutes later. He apologized over and over again to Esme for being late. Just as I thought, he had completely missed the turnoff. We all loaded into the bus and it was hard watching Aedan and Camden struggle to keep their thirst intact. I didn't even think of that when we were thinking of this trip. It was too soon for them to be in an enclosed plane with so many humans. But if Esme and Carlisle thought that they could do it then they could. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We were off to our new home in upstate New York.

**A/N: So no cliffhangers or anything, I don't write like that**

**Let me know any ideas for the Volturi. Come on, I ask this everytime and you haven't given me any ideas**

**I need to know how to bring the Volturi over to New York for a battle **

**Please review, i love logging on and seeing them**

**You guys are my heroes. **

**Thanks so much**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	12. Confrontation

**A/N: Thanks for continuing to read my story. I really appreciate all of your comments and I love hearing from you and reading your reactions to what I am writing.**

**A special thanks to JohnCullen for all the input that he has given me. I really appreciate everything that you say. Part of this chapter was his idea so I am giving credit where credit is due. Thanks to everybody for the ideas and keep them coming. Thank you so much. Please read and review, enjoy.**

Chapter 12

I was relaxed when we landed in Utica, New York. I had been anticipating this house for so long. Esme was always working on it and she did such a wonderful job every other time. I was also amazed of how well Aedan and Camden did on the plane. I don't think that they breathed the entire time but sometimes that is what had to be done. They would get used to the aching in their throats eventually but it would take time.

The city of Utica was absolutely beautiful as we took a cab from the airport. We passed by Carlisle's new place of work, the school that we would be attending, and all the rest of the scenery. All the buildings where so old and historic, a lot of restaurants, shopping and everything else. It was so beautiful as it was nestled in the forests, which was completely untouched. The Adirondack Reserve was just east from this nestled little city so there was plenty of space for us to run and eat. Variety that was the key.

I took Edward's had as we walked to our new home. The taxi's had taken us as far as the road had bed. We were then on the outskirts of the city. We walked a few miles up a winding hill and finally saw our new house, well at least the foundation of it. The cement foundation was laid and the supports for the glass wall but not much else. The foundation was there and the supports for the glass wall but not much else. The walls and foundation were up for the garages but all the shelves and cabinets were thrown inside. I could see why Esme needed our help.

The two garages combined probably had about as much square footage as the house did. One was octagon shaped and the other was rectangular. It was amazing as Rosalie and Renesmee instantly went to the octagon shaped garage to finish assembling everything. It was going to be where all of the cars are parked so all that was needed was needed as a few cabinets surrounding the outer walls. They had that done in no time and then they needed to work on the mechanic's garage, which was a little bit more challenging and intricate. They needed to go shopping for new equipment because apparently theirs couldn't be transported across the country.

Esme was directing everybody in the meantime. After we put the walls up inside the house, Alice and I went to work on assembling the pieces of the closets. Of course, hers was too small so she managed to have Emmett move the wall a little bit into Alice and Jasper's room to make more room in her closet. Of course, Alice had to get her way. Edward and I shared the third floor with Esme and Carlisle, along with their individual studies. The 2nd floor was for Camden's room, Aedan's room, Alice and Jasper's room with their closet and bathroom, Emmett and Rosalie's room with closet and bathroom, a spare bedroom and an extra bathroom. The first floor was all open including the huge living, dining room, kitchen, a bathroom and a huge music station.

Our family continued building for the next two weeks. Alice, Rosalie, Renesmee and I went shopping all the time for new furniture and art while Esme went with us a few times. We keep with very light tones through out the house, mostly white but adding in a little bit of light blue décor and a lot of color in artwork. It was kind of like our home in Forks but for some reason, this house was grander. It also felt like this was a place that I could get used to. Esme's ability to design was something that I had never seen before and it amazed me how talented she was. She and Carlisle seemed like they were destined for each other.

They were both loving and talented in the fields that they wished to pursue. Their love amazed me everyday, even as they stood in front of a completed house. The only thing left to do was the landscaping and we would do that when we got back. We all stood outside of the house, standing together in a line, admiring the work that we had done. The inside of the house was finished, the outside was finished and everything that we had done in the past week was absolutely amazing. Carlisle and Esme stood with their arms locked around each other, Edward has his arm around me, Alice and Jasper stood closely next to each other, Emmett and Rosalie had their hands intertwined and Renesmee stood in-between Aedan and Camden. We all smiled at each other and it was like our family was whole. We had everybody there that we wanted there and there was nothing that could tear us apart, even the impending doom that the Volturi brought.

We all stood and admired our home for almost the entire night. In the morning we caught cabs to the airport from the middle of the city. There was no reason to bring our luggage home with us because we would be back in a weeks time for the big move and we had plenty of clothes at home anyway. It wouldn't surprise me if Alice left all of her clothes at home and bought all new ones. That girl knew how to spend money like nobody that I had ever seen before. The plane ride home seemed long. I was tense the entire time because I had something on my mind. I still hadn't forgiven Jacob for what he did to Renesmee. There was absolutely no reason for him to tell her. Sure, she needed to know but now probably wasn't the best time for her.

"Love," Edward asked quietly on the plane. He looked at me and I knew that he knew that something was wrong. I pulled my shield away from myself and lingered it right in front of me.

_We need to do something when we get home about the Jacob situation. We can't let him get away for making our daughter cry. When we get home we will go hunting and go to La Push. I will not let this rest until I get all of this off my chest. Nobody makes my daughter cry and gets away with it._

He nodded his head and smiled. He was on board with my plan and there was nothing else in the world that would have made me happier. The plane ride then seemed to take forever, with my anticipation of the upcoming confutation. When we got to the airport in Seattle we took 3 taxis back to Forks. The drivers dropped us off at the bottom of the driveway and Edward and I separated from the rest of our family. We listened for a while to make sure that none of our family was following us and we turned west to head towards La Push.

I didn't know exactly what we were going to do to him but I needed to get a few things off of my chest. We ran faster and faster until we reached the boundary line. I hesitated for a minute, remembering the invisible line that once sat there. I didn't know exactly how the treaty was going but I didn't think that actually going into La Push would be a good thing. Edward and I waited there for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do. Then Jacob showed up with Leah and Seth at his flanks. Great, I had to talk to a wolf. I hated having to talk through Edward. Jacob was very well capable of talking.

"Jake come on. Phase back. I want to talk to you one on one."

"He doesn't want to," Edward said speaking for Jacob. "Unless you promise that you won't attack him."

"I won't attack you. I might yell but I won't attack you, promise."

He nodded and walked back into the forest. I then had a chance to address Seth who we hadn't seen in over 4 years.

"Hey Seth, I've missed you."

A huge grin came over the wolf's muzzle and he walked towards us. He came over and put his head on my shoulder. I put my head against him and ran my fingers through his fur. I had missed Seth so much. Besides Jacob he was my favorite wolf. He saved my life and I couldn't be more thankful to him. He was such a joking little brother and he had such a great relationship with all of the Cullens. I put a smile on my face as he walked away from me and put his head on Edward's shoulder. He patted him on the back and Seth returned to Leah.

"He says that it's nice to see you again," Edward said talking for Seth. "But he and Leah will stay in wolf form just in case. They know your temper." He laughed quickly and I looked at him. I crossed my arms and pouted out my lips. "Now you know that it really cute. You've got to stop that."

I then heard gagging noises coming from the wolves. I smiled and looked at Leah. I hated that she had to be involved with this. She was just so happy to be getting married to Jake and I was surprised that she didn't rip his face off. Maybe she had tried who knew.

"Leah I'm sorry."

She nodded her head. "She knows but it's not your fault and it's not Jake's. It's nobody's fault." She nodded her head again as Jacob came out of the forest as a human with only a pair of sweatpants on.

"Alright so what's so important that you had to drag me out of bed."

"Why did you tell her," I yelled. "She never needed to know."

"Oh you're still upset."

"Damn right I'm still upset. You hurt my daughter and made her cry and nobody makes her cry."

"She needed to know."

"No she didn't. I don't understand what was going through you head. There was no need for her to know."

"Well guess what, I actually tell people how I feel. I let them know exactly how I am feeling. I'm not like some people who just keep everything inside and don't ever tell them how I truly feel. Come on Bella, you should know that more than anyone."

"I do know that but Jake you didn't need to tell her. She feels like a piece of crap because she made you upset. She never wants to see you like that. You should never have put her into that situation."

"I didn't want to but I had to. Bella you have to understand where I am coming from."

"Well now she doesn't trust you and she doesn't want to see you. I guess that is your own fault. But like we promised, we will be at your wedding but the only reason that we are going is because of Leah. You need to figure out where your priorities are Jake because if you don't then you are going to lose us, all of us."

Jacob turned around and ran back into the forest heading to La Push. I looked at Leah and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Leah," I managed to say before she escaped back to follow him. Seth lingered behind and couldn't make up his mind.

"No Seth," Edward said. "If Jacob can't figure it out it doesn't mean that we will get rid of you. We like you better."

He shook his head in agreement and came forward to us again. Standing on his hind legs he gave us each a hug and ran back into the forest. Edward and I went off to go hunting before we went back to the house. We decided that because we said we were hunting that we really needed to go hunting. Afterwards, Edward and I went back to the cottage to get changed because of the werewolf smell.

"Are you alright love," Edward asked as I sat at the end of the bed.

"I hate this."

"What?"

"That my daughter is hurting and that I had to yell at Jake. Sure he deserved it but I still hate doing it."

"Sometimes it is for his own good. He can't always have anything that he wants."

"And he's getting married in 2 days to Leah. It doesn't make any sense why he would choose to tell Nessie now. I just don't get it."

"I guess that now was the best time for him because if something did end up happening between the two then it would be better if he wasn't married when it happened."

"Are you taking his side?"

"I would never take his side Bella. I am on your side, I always have been and always will be. I'm just trying to figure out where exactly his head is. It's not always the easiest thing because he has a very complex, annoying mind."

"How was Leah doing?"

"She is doing alright. She wishes that he were invested as she is but she knows that Jake loves her. Once he figures out what's going on with Renesmee he will be fine. He will realize that although Leah may not be his first choice, he will always love her no matter what. It's something that he just has to figure it out."

"Will he?"

"I don't know. You could ask Alice but she wouldn't be able to see it. She has never been able to see the future of them and you know it. I'm sure that he will figure it out but it may take a while."

"Man having a teenager is hard."

"Especially while you are a teenager yourself."

"You know," I said sitting on the bed. "This is the first time that we've been alone in a few weeks."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we should make love," Edward stated as he walked towards me. He picked me up and threw me further onto the bed. He ripped my shirt off and I unbuttoned his in less than a second. Our lips connected sending an electric current sending a circuit through my body. His lips continued down my neck and down my stomach to just above my pants, making a line up and down my torso. He took my pants off quickly while I unbuttoned his. Our bodies then connected in a way that I had missed so much. We had gotten so used to having sex almost every day that going 2 weeks without it was torture. Once we were finished we got dressed and headed back to the main house.

The bachorlette party went off without a hitch. Leah never mentioned what had happened the night before on the treaty line. She seemed to understand that whatever was spoken was to remain a secret. We had gotten our bridesmaids dresses that night and just hung out and watched movies, gave each other facials and such. After midnight, the Cullens left and Leah went to sleep. She had a big day the next day. We went back to the house and Renesmee was already asleep by the time that we got there. She was being supportive of Leah but she still insisted on not going to Jake's wedding. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing her. It would take some convincing the next day.

Edward and I spent the night lying in bed together, just curled up next to one another. It was comforting to be in his arms. I understood how Jasper and Alice were now. They didn't always need to be talking or touching but there seemed to be a love between them that was hard to describe. But now that Edward and I had been married for nearly 7 years it was becoming more apparent that we would be like Alice and Jasper some day but that didn't bother me at all.

The next day, Alice had gotten ready before the rest of us. Alice then helped me get ready with a fancy up-do and light make-up on my face. Then it came to the matter of getting Renesmee ready.

"I'm not going," she yelled throwing her dress on the ground in her room. "I don't want to."

"Sometimes darling," I said picking it up. "You have to do things that you don't want to do. Do you really think that Jake wanted to hurt you?"

"Yes and you and daddy. He doesn't think mom, he doesn't care."

"He does care and that's the problem. Mom I can't go and support him at his wedding."

"Why? If you don't go it's only gonna make him think that you can't bare to see him getting married to somebody else and it's going to make the wrong impression. Plus Leah is counting on you to be there for her. She doesn't have many friends sweetheart and she really needs you there."

Renesmee looked at me with a tear in her eye. I knew that it was killing her to go to this wedding but it was necessary to keep Jake away from her. She lowered her head and snatched the dress out of my hand. I smiled and put an arm around her.

"Just go and be there for Leah."

"She's the only reason why I am going. I'm not talking to him."

"You don't have to."

"Good."

"Now come on and let Alice do your hair."

"Fine."

Renesmee got up and we descended the two flights of stairs up to Alice's bathroom. She was ready with a curling iron in her hand and a chair set up in front of her. Renesmee seemed okay with having to go to the wedding and having everyone of us there seemed to calm her down a little bit. Alice threw all of her supplies in her bag when she was finished. We all got our dresses and shoes on with matching clutch purses and ascended the stairs. Edward was dressed in a tuxedo with a vest matching the color of our dresses and Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were dressed in black suits. Emmett's was a pinstriped suit with a top hat and all. Rosalie laughed as she went to her side. Edward came over to me and put his arm around me.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."

We all walked to the garage and Edward, Renesmee, Alice, Jasper and I took Edward's BMW and Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme took Carlisle's BMW. We passed over the treaty line into La Push to The Black's household. We parked a little bit away from where everyone else was and walked towards the house. Emily was standing outside.

"Oh thank God you guys are here," she said approaching us. She grabbed Alice's arm. "Leah needs your help."

Alice, always prepared, ran in with Emily and the rest of us girls followed behind. There had to be something that we could do. Leah was standing in the bathroom looking in the mirror. Her hair didn't seem to be taking to the hairspray or curling iron like she wanted it to.

"Okay what's wrong," Alice asked.

"I don't know what to do. I'm no good at this."

"Just calm down, we have a few hours. I've had way too many years of experience with this so let's get started."

Alice washed Leah's hair and blow-dried her hair before curling it. It only took her about an hour to finish Leah's hair and she then started on her make-up. We all hung out for about another hour before it was time to walk down the aisle. Leah was extremely nervous and Emily kept her breathing. Emily was such a good friend to her and it was amazing to see their relationship in person. They were polar opposites but were still best friends. The rest of us lined up and descended down the aisle with our counterparts. Edward and I walked down 5th and were followed by Jacob's sisters, Emily and Sam and then Leah being walked down the aisle by her mother.

Sue was one of the strongest individuals I had ever seen. She had gotten so much taken away from her but she still managed to survive. I couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like without my husband. The ceremony went smoothly and then it was onto the reception. The Cullens all sat together and we were the only ones who weren't eating or drinking. Everybody already knew what we were so there was no reason to keep up with any charade. The reception went well also. There were toasts and dancing. Renesmee stayed clear of Jacob the entire night, ducking in and out of the crowds. Seth hung out with us most of the night. It had been so long since we had gotten to speak to him that it was comforting to talk to him again. Alice had been on the phone when she wasn't dancing with Jasper in the middle of the crowd. It wasn't like her to be at a party and be so distracting. Something was going on with her and it was really starting to frustrate me. Leah was the picture of a perfect bride, even when her hair came undone she was still absolutely beautiful. At the end of the night, everybody said goodbye to one another and we went home to relax. It really was a beautiful wedding.

**A/N: Incase ya'll wanted to know what the dresses really looked like these are the links to get there. I'm not always the best at describing fashion.**

**Sorry if this chapter was a little dull, I just needed to get it out of the way.**

**Please review, give me some input. I still need help trying to figure out how to get the Volturi will come back to the States for a battle. **

**Please review, it gives me inspiration. Thanks.**

**The next chapter will be up soon. I've written most of it but it's kind of a filler chapter. **

**Bridesmaids Dresses**

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**Leah's dress**

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	13. Memories

**A/N: So I did have something else planned for this chapter but I had an idea that was only supposed to a brief statement and it ended up taking up the entire chapter. Sorry for that but I think this needs to be done before they leave. Let me know what you think. The new chapter will be up soon but I wanted to put this in here. Enjoy. And I didn't make you wait too long, don't get to used to this because I start my job on Tuesday. I did have a little bit of writer's block but this chapter kind of broke that up. Not what I was planning but it's still good. So there you go.**

Chapter 13

"So you are definitely coming right," I overheard Alice whisper as I walked by her room. "Good then I will see you tomorrow." I continued walking toward mine and Edward's room.

"Do you know what's going on with her," I asked as I started to help him pack our cds into boxes.

"With who?"

"With Alice. She is being really secretive, she has been all week. Even at Jake's wedding she was acting strange, not dancing or anything."

"I think she is planning something but she's been blocking me out. No matter what it is she is trying to keep it a secret."

"I wonder what it could be."

"Tomorrow she wants me to get Nessie out of the house so I'm assuming it's something that she is hiding from the both of us."

"What are you guys going to do?"

"I'm not sure really," he said as he continued packing cds into various boxes, each with a different label on them. I noticed that they were all labeled by year after a while. My Edward and keeping things organized. "I'm sure that she hasn't hunted in a while so maybe we'll do that."

"That sounds good. You and Nessie don't get too much alone time."

"Once again, really hard in a house like this one. We all, hopefully, will get more privacy in the new house. We put up sound barriers in each of the interior walls so that should be interesting. I have no idea how well they will withstand vampire hearing."

"You know what I just realized."

"What?"

"I sometimes forget that I am a vampire."

"Really," he said kind of shocked. I would have had the same reaction if one of us said that to me.

"Yeah, it's just that we lead such a normal life and interact with people all of the time so it really doesn't feel like we are vampires, except for all of the extraordinary powers that is. We lead a pretty normal life otherwise."

"Oh and having a battle on the horizon is really normal," he joked. It was not like Edward to be so calm about an impending battle especially when Renesmee and I were involved.

"Not that part silly, I was just saying that our lifestyle isn't as different as I thought it would be. I thought of all the things that my life would be like when I was human and I was going to be a vampire. I just thought of something else is all."

"What killing all the time," he asked stopping with the cds and looking at me. His eyes were questioning me.

"No it's just that we do so many family orientated activities and such. And you and I can be around each other all day, every night and not get sick of each other. I just never had that with anybody before. It's just a new feeling is all."

"And you are just realizing this now?"

"No, I've been thinking about it for a while but I just never talked about it."

"But you're happy right," he asked doubting himself a little bit. It pained me to see him doubt us at all. It just didn't feel right to me.

"Of course I'm happy, how could I not be?"

"I don't know, I was just asking." We continued putting the cds into their respective boxes and I had to ask a few times so I wouldn't mess anything up. The last thing that you wanted to do was mess with Edward's cds. They were like his own child. However, through the process of putting all the cds in for the move, I realized that I didn't have too many of my own there. We were almost finished packing up our room at the Cullen house and still needed to pack up the cottage. Then there was the matter of my father's house. I still had things there that I wanted to grab. I also knew that we wouldn't be back in Forks for a long time and I didn't know if it was such a good idea to keep it.

"Esme," I asked before going into her study. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure about what sweetie?"

I sat in the chair in front of her desk and crossed my hands on my lap. "I don't know what I should do about Charlie's house," I whispered. It pained me to talk about my father and having to leave behind everything that I had left of him.

"We could keep it if you'd like. It's done being paid for and everything so it wouldn't cost to much to keep it up."

"In my heart I would love to be able to keep it but I don't think that it would be reasonable."

"It's up to you Bella."

"I know but is it wrong of me to sell it? I feel like it would seem like I am over my father's death and I know that I'm not."

"Nobody will think that. Most children sell the house right away when their parents pass away but you've been waiting. You may not want to let it go but I think it may be best. Go back and get all of the stuff that you want to jeep. I will have a crew go in and clean it up before it goes on the market."

"And what are we going to do with the money? We don't need it."

"Usually when we sell one of our houses, we give the money to a charity. Once in a while we keep the money if I build it as a project but usually it goes to charity."

"Could I donate it anywhere?"

"Whatever you want Bella, it will be your money. If you want to gamble it away in Vegas then you can go right ahead."

"I wouldn't do that."

"I know that you wouldn't but it is your money, do with it what you please."

"So I'm selling my father's house."

"If that's what you want."

"I think it's what I want. Is there anyway to get a U-Haul over there?"

"I will take you right now to get one."

"Alright."

Esme grabbed her keys and she drove me to the U-Haul rental. She was a very different driver than the rest of our family. Esme was very careful and drove the speed limit, probably due to the fact that she probably hadn't driven in her entire life, or at least the past 80 or so years.

They knew us all too well, being the family that needed 9 U-Hauls for a move, only us. They were more than happy then to give us one early. I got in and started up the U-Haul. The sound of it reminded me of my beat up Chevy truck from back when I was human. It was loud and could probably be heard from a mile away.

"Are you going to be okay," Esme asked me putting her hand on the door.

"Yeah I'll be fine," I replied not quite sure of myself.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

"No I'll be able to manage it. Do you think you could tell Edward where I am and ask him to stay away please. This is something that I need to do on my own. I have a lot of stuff to go through. I haven't been there since the day of his funeral. Nothing has been touched."

"No problem sweetie, take care of yourself. Be sure that you are at the house at 5pm sharp tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Alice is planning something. I couldn't even go back to Utica to fix the house up, she wouldn't allow me to."

"Alright, I will be home at 5 then."

"Good. Take care Isabella."

She kissed the top of my forehead and I closed my eyes. She called me Isabella, my father was the only one who said that. I think that she subconsciously knew that and it made me smile. I sometimes forgot that my name was Isabella because everyone called me Bella.

I put the U-Haul in drive and drove the winding roads back to Forks. Instead of going to the Cullens, I drove the few miles down the road to my father's house. I backed up the U-Haul up to the front door and turned it off. I sat in the car for while, thinking to myself, not wanting to actually go in. It seemed like only a few minutes went by but it started getting dark outside. I had been sitting there for almost 2 hours. I looked over when I heard the door open. I saw my love sitting in the passenger seat and smiled at him. He looked at me and cradled me in his arms. I cried dry sobs for a few minutes. I told him not to come but he did anyways. I knew that there was a reason why I so in love with him.

"Bella, you don't have to do this."

"No I do. There are things that I need and I need to let go of my father."

"Do you want me to go in with you?"

"No, I'll be fine, I promise. I just needed to prepare myself for what was coming."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Go be with Renesmee, she does need to be out of the house. Alice will get mad at all of us if we disobey her."

"Yeah you're probably right." He smiled at me and gave me a quick kiss. "Nessie asked me if she could have something of grandpa's." I looked at him questioningly. "She wants to know, if it's okay with you, that she keeps his badge."

I could almost feel myself falling apart again but I didn't want to. I knew that Nessie loved Charlie and their relationship grew everyday. She still had memories of him, which I was grateful for, and she loved the fact that he was the chief of police. It made her feel safe and if I could give her something that would make her feel safe I would most definitely do it.

"I will get that for her. I will be back at the house tomorrow night."

"That long," he questioned a little bit upset.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that this is going to take a little while and if I can be away from Alice when she is going all psycho crazy then it is a great thing."

He smirked and then smiled at me holding me tightly to his chest. He kissed my forehead before lifting my chin and planting a kiss on my lips.

"Goodbye Edward, I love you."

"I love you too."

He opened out the door and ran into the woods behind my house. There were so many memories that occupioned this house including the woods behind it. I remembered the spot that Edward had left me all of those years ago. It still left a little bit of a stinging pain in my heart. I knew that I had him forever but that memory was still painful, remembering how I felt afterwards. I finally managed to open up the door of the U-Haul and walk slowly to the house. I got the key that was underneath the mat and opened up the door. Everything was the same as I walked into the living room and turned the lights on. I could still see the kitchen from where I was standing, with the bright yellow cabinets that needed severe updating. The living room was still set-up the same with Charlie's chair still reclined just the way that he left it. I remembered somebody trying to sit there the day of the funeral and I nearly ripped their head off. I made my way back up to my old room. All my stuff was still there, my ancient computer, my lack of a wardrobe, which I seemingly missed all of a sudden, and my cd player that was placed by my bedside table. Compared to the cd players that Edward had, mine looked like a dinosaur. I looked around and wondered what I could possibly want.

I went back down to the U-Haul and grabbed a bunch of boxes out of the back. I heard the conversations between my neighbors as they finally saw the lights turned on.

"_I guess she finally decided that it was time," the wife said to her husband._

"_That poor girl. Her father was such a good man and then that happens. She must be having a hard time with this."_

"_Maybe I should go talk to her, make sure that she is okay."_

"_She probably wants to be alone. Notice how that husband of hers isn't even here. If he isn't allowed here then none of us probably are. She will be okay."_

"_I just hate to see a pretty girl like her all by herself in that house."_

I tried to break out all of the conversations with music. I hated my super-hearing. I didn't want to hear what all of my neighbors were talking about. I hated that I was being pitied and that they were all worried about me. I wasn't weak, I could deal with my father's death. Maybe the last time that they saw me I didn't cry one tear and that I finally broke down later on. With my track record of running off right after it happened, that might have something to do with the fact that they were talking about me.

I went through my room first, I figured that it would probably be the easiest room to go through. I knew that I wanted to grab all of my classic movies, what was left of my books and all of my cds. My computer and all of the furniture weren't all that important to me. I didn't have an attatchment to any of them so there really was no need. I then looked through my closet, seeing the style that I used to have. Alice as a sister didn't do much for me being able to keep the style that I loved so much. I pulled out a pair of holey sweats and a ratted t-shirt and smiled. The first time that I knew that Edward was there overnight I was really hoping that I had grabbed my Victoria Secret pajamas from Phoenix. However, it turned out that he thought I was beautiful no matter what I wore. I grabbed them and undressed from the clothes that I was in. I wanted to feel like I was back where I used to be. I wanted to relive who I was so I could get past everything.

Once I was in my old clothes it was easier for me to sort through everything. I put most of my clothes in bags to bring to a homeless shelter and left my room with nothing but a bed, a desk, a computer, a cd player and all of the linens. I smiled to myself as I brought the 5 boxes out of my room. There was a lot of stuff that I missed there. I put them at the front door and continued on my journey. I was leaving the hardest room for last. After I packed away all of the cds and movies in the living room I looked at the kitchen. There was nothing of signifigance in there. My kitchen table brought back a lot of memories of Charlie, of Edward and of me but there was no real reason to hold on to it. I could keep this house furnished except for one thing. I moved my father's chair by the door and stared at it. I had to keep it, there was no way not to.

I then took a deep breathe as I grabbed some trash bags and boxes and headed up to Charlie's room. I hesitated at the door for a slight moment before turning the handle. His bed was perfectly made and everything sat in it's respectful place. I went through his closet first and found his police uniform. I folded it up gently and placed it into a box. I then took out his favorite outfit that he would wear almost every weekend to go fishing and put that in the box also. All of the rest of his clothes I put into bags to bring to a shelter. I went over to his dresser and packed away the pictures that he had. There was one of him and my mom on their wedding day and one with me when I was first born. Then there was one at my graduation from high school and one from my wedding. It hurt me so much to realize that he had never seen me graduate from college. It was something that he always wanted but never got to see. I also grabbed his bottle of cologne. It wasn't the best or most expensive but it was his scent, something that I missed so much. I put it on top of the full box and went over to his bedside table. There was a picture of him and Renesmee and one of Edward, Renesmee, me and him. I smiled lightheartedly and placed the pictures in the box carefully. I then went through his bedside table and grabbed his badge and his gun. I didn't know what I wanted to do with it but it was better not left in the house.

After I was done collecting the rest of the pictures that he had stored through out his room, I made my way down to our basement, where we housed all of our old stuff. I picked up and went through a box that said _Bella _written in big bold letters on the top. It was my life in a nutshell. All of the summers that we had together, pictures that I had drawn in kindergarden and sent him in the mail, every single report card that I ever had, my diploma, pictures of me trying to ride a bike and falling down seconds later. I never knew that my father kept all of this stuff. He wasn't a man for keeping useless things but I knew that he cared. He cared a lot more about me than anybody knew. I went through the rest of the things and grabbed a few Christmas ornaments and brought my 4 boxes upstairs.

While I was going through the house it seemed like time wasn't passing. It was as if time was standing still and waiting for me to surface. I didn't end up with too much. My entire life with my father and his house was all in 20 boxes and one beat up, old raged chair. I looked up at the clock and realized that it was around 3 the next afternoon. Man it was getting late and Alice would kill me if I didn't get home in time. I opened up the front door to see that the sky was cloudy and there wasn't even a hint that the sun would come up. I then saw a car drive by and stop. It had me worried for a minute. The car then pulled into the driveway and Angela stepped up. She walked up to me and gave me a hug without saying a single word. She then helped me load all of the boxes into the very back of the U-Haul.

The presense of Angela there with me helped me out a lot. Although we didn't speak it was oddly comforting. Angela was such a good soul and it made me upset that I was going to lose her, again. I didn't have enough time with her. She didn't know my secret but she still loved me like she did when I was a human. She was never pressing about why I was upset but she was always there just in case I ever needed it and I needed it now. I was about to say goodbye to the house and to my father. We then brought all of the bags of clothes and put them in the very front of the U-Haul before I closed the door of it. I invited her inside and poured her a glass of water before we sat at the kitchen table.

"Thank you," I said looking up to her with grateful eyes.

"You're welcome."

"You are looking amazing," I said looking down at her stomach. Her little bit of a baby bump that I had seen a little while ago was now becoming more pronounced. "Being a mother is going to do wonders for you."

"Yeah do wonders for me," she said taking a sip of water. "It's stressing me out."

"Why?"

"I don't want to complain to you, this is a hard day for you."

"It's keeping me distracted now talk," I said nodding my head and making her realize that I was okay.

"It's just that right now Ben and I live in an apartment and with this little one on the way I don't think that we will have enough room."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a 2 bedroom apartment but the bedrooms are barely big enough for one person, not even including another person in this equation."

"Why don't you buy a house?"

"We just can't afford it right now. It's just that we are being overly cautious making sure that we aren't defaulting on loans and such. We are still so young. You're lucky that you had the Cullens and your dad helping."

"Actually Edward and I raised our daughter for the first two years while we were at school. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world but it just takes a matter of practice. Everything will turn out okay."

I looked around the house and it reminded me of my childhood here, during the summers at least. I remembered playing out in the back yard and having Charlie be there as happy as ever. I wished that happiness on any person in my life that I truly care about.

"I have an idea," I said after thinking for a minute. Angela looked at me with confused eyes no knowing what I meant. "I mean I am selling my father's house because I am leaving and I don't want to leave it behind. I didn't know what I was going to do with the money but now I know that there doesn't even need to be sale. The house is yours."

Angela's eyes widened in shock. "Don't do that to me Bella, you are going to make me go into labor."

"I'm not lying to you hun, you are an important person in my life and I remember growing up here and it was such a good feeling. I want your kids to be able to run around in the back yard and go camping in the woods. Nothing would make me happier than giving this house to you, I swear. We already have 2 houses and there is no need for me to take the money from this one. You are my best friend, you always were. You have always been there for me and helped me out and now I want to return the favor."

"Are you sure," she asked. I looked at her and I could see the happiness in her eyes. It was something that I was going to miss.

"Absolutely positive," I said grabbed the keys off of the counter. "You are the proud owner of a brand new house. Use the money you saved to put an addition on or something."

Angela jumped out of her seat and pulled me into a huge hug. I wrapped my arms around her and I could feel her tears staining my shirt. I had a huge smile plastered on my face knowing that I just took a huge weight off of my shoulders. And if any couple were going to live in this house, I was glad that it would be Ben and Angela.

"I'm sorry Angela, but I have to say goodbye now. We are leaving for New York tomorrow morning and Alice wants us all at the house for 5."

"You should get going then. Thank you so much Bella, I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem, really. When I come back in a year I expect to see babies in the house and an addition put on, you got it." She nodded her head.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you but I promise I will come back next summer."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

We both wrapped ourselves into a hug and tears shed from her eyes again. I really was going to miss Angela, almost as much as I was going to miss my house. But her having it just seemed right. We walked to the front of the house and I smiled looking back at the house that I had become so accustomed to.

"Goodbye," I said in such a quiet whisper that nobody could hear me. I closed the door behind Angela and I.

"You can move in whenever you want and I will get some lawyers to draw up the paperwork. I just want you to enjoy this Angela and you deserve the best of what life has to give to you."

"As do you Bella," she said wrapping me into another hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," I said wishing that I could cry also. "Goodbye Angela, I will see you next summer."

"Bye Bella."

She hugged me once more before hesitantly getting into her car. She backed out and I heard her squel to Ben once she was out of sight. I smiled to myself and shook my head. I climbed back into the driver's seat of the U-Haul before pulling out of the driveway. I looked in the side-view mirrors as my house disappeared out of sight, breathing a long deserved sigh of relief.

**A:N/ Thanks for reading. Stick in there, a new chapter probably Monday or Tuesday night.**

**Tell me what you think.**

**The new chapter will be a little confusing**

**A lot of old characters and new ones just for a clue**

**And what is Alice being so secretive about?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	14. Party

**A/N: So I told you the next chapter would be up soon. Great for you guys that I had a snow day from school today.**

**Start the new job tomorrow though.**

**FYI this chapter might get confusing.**

**A lot of new characters and old **

**This chapter took a lot of research and I am not kidding with that one. **

**Drop me a line if you get confused**

**And thanks to all of you who leave me reviews. I try to reply to them if I'm not in a hurry but I do appreciate you reviewing, most times every chapter. **

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 14

The ride back home seemed to take forever, having to drive the actual speed limit due to the top speed of the U-Haul. I drove up the long driveway and pulled up to the side of the house. I got out and walked to the front door to see Alice standing and waiting for me.

"Oh my God, what are you wearing? We can't have this, we need to get you dressed and ready. Come on, we have no time."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me at lightning speed up to her bathroom. I was still wearing my old sweats and holey shirt.

"Why are you wearing this," she asked pulling me into a chair and starting on my hair.

"I just needed to reminisce of old times is all."

"Where were you?"

"I packed up my father's house."

"Oh my God Bella. Why didn't you tell me? I could've have helped you instead of planning this party."

"What party," I yelled getting my hair yanked in the process.

"It's not yours it's for Renesmee. I figured that it's been a while since all of us have been together and there should be a signifying moment for her. She deserves it. Plus it's a last hoorah before we leave Forks for a while."

"That is so sweet Alice. She is really going to love it."

"I hope so. It took a lot to get everybody here."

"Alice everything that you do for Nessie she appreciates. She loves you to death."

Alice smiled in the mirror for a moment and then it disappeared. "So why didn't you tell me?"

"It's just something that I needed to do on my own. I didn't even let Edward go in with me. I have nothing against you Alice it was just really hard for me."

"I understand I guess."

"The house is gone now though."

"Really? I didn't even know that it was for sale."

"It wasn't. I was starting to pack everything into the back of the truck and Angela drove by. She helped me carry everything out and we talked a little bit. She has a daughter on the way and I figured that they would appreciate my house to start their family. I just want their kids to have a good childhood, with a big backyard and everything. I didn't want them to have to live in an apartment."

"That is really sweet of you," she said twisting my hair into a bun. "You didn't need to do that."

"Angela was always such a good friend to me and it was just necessary in order for me to let go. I kept a few things of my father's and pictures and such. I also kept his chair."

"That is completely reasonable Bella."

"So…who all is coming to this thing?"

Alice went over the guest list with me and I nodded every time until she mentioned Jacob.

"Why did you invite him?"

"I invited him a long time ago, before everything happened with Nessie. And if we are moving out east I'm sure that no matter how upset Nessie is she will want to say goodbye to him."

"And of course you can't see the outcome."

"Nope."

"How are you dealing with that anyways?"

"I'm dealing with it a little bit better. I don't get so upset anymore when I'm blocked out. I'm also learning to make decisions for myself."

"And you and Jasper are doing alright?"

"A lot better now actually. It seemed that the talk that you two had made him so much more understanding and me also. He helped me see things in a different way. I needed to make sure that I was going to be okay no matter what decision I made."

"I'm so happy for you Alice, that is amazing."

"Okay I'm done," she said dropping the curling iron to the counter. "Come on, it's almost 5, we've got to get you dressed. I already picked out a dress for you."

"Of course you did."

"Don't worry its not too fancy, but it is very cute."

"And heels?"

"No heels, you've filled your quota for those this month."

"Thank God," I said standing up from the chair. I made my way into Alice's closet and she handed me a simple black dress. It had very short sleeves that we knitted openly and it went down to just above my knees. She handed me a pair of black flats to go with it before leaving me to get dressed. Her dress, however, was anything but simple. It was a very colorful silk chiffon dress that looked like a tie-dyed mixture of light purple, dark purple, white, teal and black with a black belt that made it look like an empire waist that went down to just above her knees. She paired it with a pair of black heels.

"Come on, they will be home soon."

We left her bathroom and went downstairs. Who was there surprised me. I didn't even hear anybody upstairs and as I walked down the stairs I really saw that Alice went all out. All of our friends and family were there. I noticed that Edward and Nessie weren't back yet and it kind of made me feel lonely. I had never spent this much time away from either of them and they had probably been worried sick.

All of the girls were dressed in dresses, which was kind of weird for me to see. Apparently Alice had been having a little bit too much fun with this because most of the females looked a little bit uncomfortable to say the least. All of our friends that I had meant back when the Volturi were coming were standing in the living room; minus a few but then again there were also some new additions.

"Come on Bella," Alice said quietly grabbing my hand. She led me down the stairs and into the mass of vampires and werewolves. There were only two humans that I could see but there were 6 heartbeats amongst them. I walked into the kitchen to say hello to Billy and Sue who were around the plates of food.

"So how did you manage to get this food away from Jake and Seth," I asked sarcastically giving Billy a hug. "You're looking good Billy."

"So are you Bells, just as beautiful as ever." He gave me a kiss on the cheek before I moved over to Sue and gave her a kiss.

"Sue, how does it feel to have your only daughter married?"

"A little weird but Jake is the best man for her. He is a good guy."

"Yeah he is."

"Let's just hope that Seth isn't getting married any time soon."

I laughed at her comment. "I don't think so." The thought of Seth getting married anytime soon just seemed impossible to me. He was still so young and there wasn't anybody that I could think of him being with. I talked with them for a little while and made my way through the crowd.

"Bella," I heard somebody yell. It wasn't a voice that I was familiar with. I looked over and saw Nahuel walking over to me, with 4 beautiful women walking behind him. I smiled as I walked over to him and gave him a hug. He had been such a big help to us when the Volturi were coming after Renesmee. It also brought hope to me that my daughter would turn out to be okay even after a hundred or so years.

"Oh Nahuel, it's so good to see you again. Thank you so much for what you did. I don't think I ever got a chance to thank you."

"I didn't get a chance to thank you either." I looked at him puzzled. "You guys finally gave me the confidence to stand up to my father. When I returned home I searched for him. It took me longer than I had expected it to. I wanted to talk to him and tell him how bad of a man he was and that nobody deserved to be treated the way that he was making it out to be. I did find him but I didn't end up talking to him. I guess that all of the hate that I had for him came out all at once and I ended up destroying him. My poor sisters didn't know what to think or what to do without my father. So now they are with me and I would like to introduce you to them."

He turned around and I could see the resemblance between the three of the girls and Nahuel. "Guys, this is Bella, remember I was telling you about her family."

The three girls at once ran up to me and gave me a gigantic hug. When they stepped back, they looked a little embarrassed but I just smiled to them.

"This is my oldest sister Makeeda," he said pointing at the shortest of the girls. She looked the most like Nahuel with red-black straight hair that went just below her shoulders and narrow eyes. Her smile was exuberant as I looked at her. Her eyes were a gray color, the same color that I noticed all of this family had. She was wearing a tan sweetheart top dress with embellishments around her chest and sheer layered fabric flowing out of it.

"Alice gave this to me, she said that it suits me."

"Tell me about it. Alice is like that with everybody.

"I know," said the sister next to her. "I'm Naira by the way," she said extending her hand.

"It's nice to meet you."

"You too. She got to me too." Naira was darker skinned then her brother and sisters but she was absolutely beautiful. She had wide eyes and dark brown hair with little hints of blonde highlights and her hair was in loose curls all the way down to her waist. "I'm not used to being dressed up like this." She was in a light tan dress with thin straps over both shoulders and a little bit of a v-neck that flowed from an empire waist just halfway down her thigh. "However, I do think that I could get used to her."

"It takes a while for that to happen," I said thinking about my wonderful sister. "She's very persistent and knows what she wants and what you want. That's the wonderful thing about being able to see the future."

"She sees the future," Naira asked.

"Yes she does but it's just subjective. The future can always change."

Naira seemed very interested in Alice's powers and left to go and find her.

"You remember my aunt Huilen," Nahuel said as his aunt came out from behind his other sister.

"Yes, it's nice to see you again," I said giving her a quick hug. "And who are you," I asked looking at Nahuel's other sister.

"My name is Adisa," she replied quickly. She looked uncomfortable in the leopard printed dress that Alice had put her in. It was dark brown around her chest with a halter-top looping around her neck and flowed out in layers of sheer leopard print fabric just passed her knees. Her skin was very light and had hair that resembled Renesmee's. It was a beautiful brown with tight curls down to the middle of her back and she was very beautiful, just like her sisters, but she seemed very quiet.

I talked with Nahuel for a little while longer before excusing myself quickly. Alice grabbed my arm.

"We need to get everybody upstairs so that Edward can bring Renesmee downstairs with me really quick. I want to get her dressed."

"Alright."

We rushed everybody upstairs and told everyone to be quiet. I could see Tanya in against the far wall of the hallway. She looked very annoyed by having to be quiet as she stood with her arms crossed across her chest. She was wearing a very revealing silver halter-top dress that seemed to expose her cleavage to no end. I just smirked at her as she gave me an evil look before looking away. She still wasn't one of my favorite people. I had yet to see Jake or any of his tribe members but I wasn't particularly looking for them either. I was more so trying to figure out whom the new people where.

They stood beside Garrett a few feet in front of me. There were two males and two females. The two women looked to be best friends and their mates standing beside them. I noticed the color of their eyes, light bronze colored just like ours. So there were other vegetarians besides the Denalis and us.

One female was dressed in a beautiful light and dark blue bubble dressed with bare legs and knee high white boots. She had medium brown hair that curled slightly down to her waist. She had a very athletic build and a beaming personality; I could see that from this far away. The man on her arm was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a light blue polo shirt that matched his light blonde hair perfectly. He was tall and lanky; his mate seemed to be stronger than he was. He was around Jasper's height and could never take his eyes off of her.

The female was holding the hand of the other girl with them. She was around my height, with extremely curly dirty blonde hair. She was wearing a bright light blue silk dress with a silver embellishment in the middle of her chest and was spaghetti straps that went to just above her knees. She had a more round figure, almost identical to Esme's so I wondered what had happened to her. The man on her arm reminded me of a lighter haired Emmett. He was very tall and imposing with chiseled features. He towered over her but that seemed to make her feel safer. He was dressed casually with a light shirt on with a pair of cargo pants on.

I heard Renesmee come in and Alice rush her downstairs. Very quietly everybody went downstairs and I made it a point to talk to Garrett and Kate's friends as soon as possible. Edward came up the stairs and rushed into our room where an outfit was already waiting for him on the bed. I walked over to him and he wrapped me into a tight hug.

"How's my love doing?"

"I'm doing good."

"You look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you." I placed a quick kiss on his lips before he got undressed and then redressed.

"Did you take care of everything?"

"Yeah and I wanted to apologize to you."

"For what," he said with a little chuckle. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should have had you stay last night."

"I understood why you sent me away and I don't have an issue with that. You needed to be alone to deal with everything. I don't mind one bit, I promise. I had a lot of fun with Nessie."

"What did you guys do?"

"We drove around for a long time before deciding exactly where to hunt and I have to tell you, she drives better than you do."

"How fast was she going," I asked in a motherly tone.

"Not too fast, just a little bit faster than you. But it was great to see how her eyes lit up while she was driving. I love looking into her eyes, just like her mother's."

I felt like I wanted to blush when he was talking. He always had that effect on me.

"So did you know that Alice was doing this?"

"No but when I pulled up to the house and heard all the thoughts I knew that something was up. She told me that it was a party for Nessie and such and my outfit was upstairs."

He took my hand and led me down the hall. Even dressed in a pair of simple jeans and a button up shirt he looked like the most gorgeous creature that I had ever seen. We joined everybody else in the living room and awaited Renesmee's arrival. Alice came out first.

"On the count of three," she whispered slightly.

By the time three came out we all yelled surprise to Renesmee who stood shocked at the entrance to the living room. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a light blue dress with silver stitching through out her waist. The dress just seemed to suit her perfectly. It was young and very stylish. I wanted to cry. My little girl was all grown up. I ran across the room to her and wrapped her into a tight embrace.

"Mom," she yelled in my ear wrapping her arms around me. It had felt like forever since we had been next to each other. "I missed you."

"I missed you too baby."

Edward came up behind us and wrapped his arms around us. "My daughter you look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks, I picked it out myself."

"Did you know about this?"

"No but I had a feeling. Aunty Alice was acting strange." She paused for a moment. "Stranger than usual at least."

I smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she was yanked away by Emmett. Rosalie stood behind him with a big smile on her face waiting for her turn. She was wearing a halter-top red bubble dress that she looked amazing in. Rosalie, however, looked stunning in absolutely everything. I took this as my chance to talk to the new people. I walked over to Garrett and Kate and gave them both a hug.

"How have you been," Garrett asked wrapping me into a hug.

"I've been great. How are you doing?"

"Amazing. Life with Kate is absolutely amazing."

"How's the whole vegetarian thing going?"

"Good, I've only cheated once."

"Once in almost 7 years isn't bad at all. That's great." I paused for a moment and looked at the 4 new vampires standing behind them. "Who are they," I asked quietly. He paused for a moment and smiled.

"Sorry, Bella this is Ann," he said pulling me to shake hands with the athletic woman. "This is Alex," he said as I shook his hand of the woman's mate. "And this is Carrie and John," he said introducing me to the other couple. "Very talented group they are."

"Are you guys vegetarians," I asked looking at Ann.

"Yeah we are."

"Originally from,"

"The east coast. John here was living down south and the rest of us were living in Massachusetts. Carrie and I have been best friends forever, since before we were born and one night we were driving home from the club when we got our car wrapped around a tree. We were both in excruciating pain and it felt like I was going to die. But then our angels here," she said looking up at Alex and John. "They saved us. The pain then intensified but we all have been together ever since. Alex and John have known each other for quite a while and neither of them believed in killing humans so once Carrie and I were turned we followed their rules."

"How did you guys meet the Denalis?"

"We were traveling around trying to find different animals to feast on when Garrett and Kate came out of no where, trying to attack the same animal as we were. And from then on we've all been good friends. They told us that they wanted us to meet their family."

"Family we are. I'm Bella by the way."

"Kind of figured that one. Sorry about talking so much, that's just the way that I am. I just don't even really know when to shut up."

"That's perfectly fine."

"So do you have any powers," Carrie asked me. She looked very sweet and innocent in the way that she dressed and in the way that she talked.

"Yeah but it's not much. I just have a shield. I can protect people from psychological harm. What about you?"

"Well I have the power to smooth emotions, kind of like keeping the peace. John here has the telekinetic powers. He can cause objects to come to him by using his mind. Alex has the ability to stop time and Ann can form an electric charge with her body and throw it at an opponent, like being able to use a tazzer from a distance."

"You guys really are a talented group."

"I told you so," Garrett stated before returning to his conversation with Carlisle.

I spoke with the coven of 4 for a while. They all seemed to be very nice and trustworthy, all of them speaking to me as if we had known each other for years. Alex and John had been friends for years, coming across each other one day around 15 years prior. Then they met Ann and Carrie 8 years later. I knew that I was going to become friends with Ann almost immediately after meeting her. She had such an upbeat personality and she was so funny and energetic. She really never did stop talking for very long.

I eventually made my way away from them and talked to some of my other friends. Zafrina had made her way up to the states and I was glad. I missed her so much. She had been such a big help with me trying to learn how to use my powers. I had visited her around 6 months after they left but never returned because of what happened to Charlie.

At the end of the night Carlisle had to make an announcement. It seemed like the best time to ask all of our friends for help against the Volturi. The living room was now split up into the groups of covens and friends and nomads. Most of them agreed. Half of the Egyptian Coven had agreed. Amun and Kebi respectfully declined, saying that they wanted no part in it. However, when Benjamin had said yes and Tia followed, Amun wasn't too happy. He had always been paranoid that Carlisle would steal Benjamin away from him and wasn't pleased when Benjamin had agreed to fight for Carlisle. Tia followed because she could imagine her life without Benjamin, even if it was for a short period of time.

The Irish Coven was next, a group of 3 strong. All agreed. Siobhan thought that the Volturi were uncivilized vampires and there was no need for their rule anymore. Her mate Liam and their other coven member Maggie agreed upon her request. Maggie was a little skeptical at first but Camden had helped her realize that everything was going to be okay. It was the first time that I had seen Camden interact with other people and he seemed to be doing very well. Maggie and him had been getting along very well since they first laid eyes on each other.

The Romanian Coven agreed without much hesitation. Any reason for them to fight the Volturi they were all for. They stood in a corner most of the night wearing their all black clothing, only talking when Renesmee approached them. She gave both of them a hug and thanked them genuinely for coming. For some reason, Renesmee was drawn to them. She, however, spent most of the night talking with Nahuel. Apparently he and his family were trying to stick to a vegetarian diet and agreed to accompany us to New York for further help. This brought out my motherly instincts almost immediately as I saw the way that Nahuel was looking at her. It was a little bit too loving.

Alistair, however, didn't believe that fighting the Volturi was a smart idea. Apparently he still felt the same as he did before. He ran away before they even got there last time and he was still standing his ground.

Peter and Charlotte agreed to fight because of their friendship with the Cullens and especially Jasper. They all had a history together and with Peter's knowledge of fighting it would help us in some way. They had always been there for us when we needed it and would stop by periodically when they were in the area to check in and make sure that we were doing all right.

Ann, Alex, Carrie and John immediately agreed when they found out that the Volturi were going insane in Italy. Their new bond with our family only cemented that fact. Ann also jumped at the opportunity to use her powers. She only got to us it while she was hunting and she always enjoyed a challenge.

The Amazon coven agreed but only for their love for us. Zafrina had convinced them to join us and said that there was no way to lose after all of the others had agreed.

The Denali coven, consisting now of 5, agreed immediately wanting to avenge their sister's death at the hands of Caius. They all knew that in order to truly stick up for their sister that the only way to defend her honor was to defeat the Volturi once and for all. Carmen and Elezar were also willing to help believing that they needed to rid the Volturi for their past. It would be very helpful to have Elezar there again to tell us more about the Volturi.

Nahuel's family had agreed to fight with us also. Nahuel felt like it was his responsibility to stick up for his family, which now included us. We had changed his life for the better and he was happy to do so. Adisa had the power to call animals to help in battle so it would help us out immensely also. The more vampires that we had with power the better. Also Naira had the ability of a physical shield where she could protect up to 3 people from physical harm within 20 feet of her.

The werewolves agreed also. I made it a point to stay away from them through out the night except for Leah and Seth. Just because I was mad at Jacob didn't mean that I needed to keep those two out of my life. Leah was happy to be a married woman and Seth was happy to finally have her out of the house. She did look beautiful with the honeymoon glow in a strapless earth toned printed dress. She was absolutely stunning in it. I was glad that she was happy.

At the end of the night mostly everybody left. The only ones to stay behind were Nahuel's family and Ann's family. It seemed like Ann and Carrie and their mates needed to live somewhere for an extended period of time. They wanted to stop traveling so we invited them in with us. Esme had already made adjustments to the new house up in Utica. She was building a second house almost right next the one that was already built. It was identical to the main house but just a smaller version. According to Esme, Ann, Carrie, Alex, John, Nahuel, Huilen, Adisa, Naira, and Makeeda would all be staying there until they could figure out what they wanted to do.

**A/N: So there it is.**

**Let me know what you think**

**I'm putting a link up on my profile for all the dresses in this chapter and the last**

**I didn't realize the links weren't working**

**And a special thanks to John Cullen for letting me use him as a character, my cousin Cait for letting me use her (she's Carrie), my boyfriend who is Alex and I put myself in as Ann. Just to give you a little bit of a hint of where the new characters came from. Aedan and Camden though are straight out of my imagination. I don't usually use my OC but I think with this story it is necessary for the battle that will happen.**

**Check out John Cullen's new story. I really like it and he's only 2 chapters in but it's his first so check it out. Thanks.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!**

**Thanks for sticking with this story. It is no where near finished though.**

**Alright and I've become obsessive with my author's notes and I apologize. For some reason I want to tell you all the stuff that goes through my head. It's the writer in me.**

**Review please and thank you. New chapter probably Saturday.**


	15. Moving

**A/N: So I promised that it would be up Saturday but you guys love me because in the hour inbetween school and work I write for you**

**This is my longest chapter without author notes, so I'm excited about it**

**Thanks to John Cullen, Emmettsmyfave, CourtneyHale and urmyedwardcullen for reviewing almost every single chapter. Thanks for being dedicated to this. **

**Thanks for waiting since Sunday.**

**Enjoy!**

Moving

We spent the next few days after Renesmee's party packing up our house. It was a little bit depressing to see our house packed up into boxes. Most of our furniture was staying behind, just in case we ever wanted to come back considering we all knew that we would. Outside of the house were 9 U-Hauls and a car transporter that all of our cars were being driven up onto. Edward was nervous about this, having to have his cars on the bottom level so that if they fell off they wouldn't have to far to go. I honestly could have cared less. As long as Edward was happy with his cars and I didn't have to listen to his complaining, that was okay with me. Ann had been helping me pack up the cottage and wondering about my choice in books.

"I just don't understand how you can read those book. I had to read them in high school and I don't remember much about them but I know that I just used Spark notes for them."

"I just like the classics. You just have to read past the boring speech and look towards the essence of the book. The storyline is more so what I like about it. There aren't many books that have this kind of plot anymore. It's original and I really like that."

"I guess that I can see where you are coming from but I just don't read much anyways. I'm just more of a talker, a writer you know?"

"I wish that I could write but it just never really ends up working out very well."

"Some people just can't write it's not something that you should beat yourself up about. You like literature and that's great. I wish that I could appreciate it more but I just don't have the patientence for it. It's just like 'say what you need to say and get it over with.' I guess I'm not patient at all."

"I can see that." Ann was a little ball of fire. She moved at a mile a minute and that's not just because she was a vampire. It seemed like she had taken the position of my new best friend, as Carrie had taken that position with Alice. Carrie was all for fashion and Alice was excited to have someone to share that with. Renesmee loved shopping but nowhere near the extreme that Alice was. Carrie was on her level.

Nahuel and his family and Ann, Carrie, Alex and John all took the new opportunities in stride. They would be off hunting shortly and we would meet them at the airport in New York in 2 days. That's how long it would take to get there driving. Approximately 46 hours, not accounting for traffic, but that's driving the speed limit. Ann and I took many trips bringing stuff from the cottage to the main house, considering there wasn't a clearing to get any vehicle up there. Edward would have helped but he got wrapped in to help Alice.

"Come on, come on, pick up the pace," she yelled standing in the doorway clapping her hands together. Jasper, Emmett and Edward came down the stairs simultaneously caring boxes and garment bags. "Emmett, be careful with those dresses. They were expensive."

I chuckled to myself as he stumbled with it slightly just to make Alice gasp. They loaded what they could into the back of her U-Haul but it was already busting at the seams. They then started putting her things in Jasper's. Ann and I finished up mine and Edward's U-Hauls and smiled at each other as we closed the back doors in unison. My entire life was packed in the matter of the back of a U-Haul. We then continued to help the rest of my family, with Esme and Alice cringing at the sight of their delicate clothing and artwork being packed. Once we were finished, Rosalie and Edward drove the cars onto the car transporter. It was just big enough for all of our cars while Jasper's motorcycle was in the back of his U-Haul. With how insane our family was about their cars there was no way that we were going to drive them almost 3,000 miles across country. The Volvo was one thing but when it came to the BMWs and Mercedes it was a whole other deal.

We all said our goodbyes to Nahuel, Huilen, Makeeda, Naira, Adisa, Ann, Carrie, Alex and John before hoping into our U-Hauls. All of Renesmee's things were in one U-Haul and she had Camden as a co-pilot. She would need to sleep sometime within the next two days and at that point he would take over. Camden's things, which there weren't too many of, were in the one that Aedan was driving. The two shared one but it was nowhere near full considering they were nomads when we met them. Alice had bought a few things for them but I had a feeling that when we got to New York that was something that we would need to do.

The driver of the car transporter was dropped off by his wife and looked astonished at the amount of cars that we had and the make of them. Carlisle led the way, with Esme behind him, then Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, me, Renesmee, Alice, Jasper, Aedan and our cars brought up the rear. We had a long way to go but the one great thing about being vampires is that we didn't need to sleep. We would be without our cars for about a day but that was fine with us. We had a few new ones to buy anyways for our new family members and those could be used until our cars arrived.

The drive seemed to take no time at all. It was only a few months earlier that we had driven back from New Hampshire. A lot had happened since we were back and I reflected on it as I drove behind Edward. I had said goodbye to my father, although I never visited his grave, my childhood home was gone, but to a good friend, my daughter was almost fully grown and Jacob had told her that he imprinted on her. When we left we were on good terms, I guess. He had agreed to stay away until he was needed because he didn't want to upset Renesmee further. She gave him a hug quickly at the party and moved on. They told us to call them when their services would be needed. It would take some time to be back on the same note with those guys. We had finally seen the welcome sign to Utica, New York and I almost bounced up and down with excitement. A whole new house, a whole new life and everything would be as normal as possible. However, this town was known for its snowfall. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to but snow still was not my forte.

The driveway up to the house seemed so familiar. When we pulled up we basically stayed in our convoy lane. Carlisle backed his U-Haul up to the front door and we all got out. By helping each other we thought it wouldn't take as long to figure out where everything was going and we wouldn't be bumping into each other too much. This move, however, was turning out to be very expensive. We didn't have any furniture, except for my father's chair. How ironic is that? After unloading everything, Alice and Esme took two of the U-Hauls to go furniture shopping and the rest of the U-Hauls went back to the distribution center. The family then ran back to the house. It was so nice to stretch our legs but we wouldn't be resting. We had a week before school started and we needed to unpack the house, help with the building of the other house, buy a few new cars and have a few family meetings on how everything was going down.

Once back to the house, I allowed Edward to unpack our room because he was so particular about everything. I just hung up clothes in my closet. It could have been the size of a bedroom. On the dresser inside, I put the pictures that I had taken from Charlie's room. The one of Charlie, Renesmee, Edward and me was present in the middle and a few of me and him from the wedding. I put his cologne right next to it and a picture of him in his police uniform that I found in the living room. I smiled slightly to myself and took out my old pajamas. I put them on to finish hanging up all of my clothes.

"You okay," Edward asked from the other room. "I haven't heard anything from you in a while."

"Yeah I'm fine," my voice breaking a little bit at the end. I hope he hadn't noticed but of course, I could get nothing by him. He ran to grab me but stopped short, about a foot in front of me. He eyed my outfit, holey shirt and all. He smirked slightly.

"Is that the outfit that I think it is?" I smiled at him and nodded my head. "Those are the pajamas you wear the first time that you knew I spent the night at your house." He wrapped his arms around my waist. "I think they are just as sexy now as they were then."

"Oh really," I replied wrapping my arms around his neck. "Then why don't you do something about it?" He placed his lips on mine and our lips moved together. The passion grew as he delicately pulled our bodies to the floor. Our lips never lost contact with each other until Edward slip my shirt over my head.

"This is exactly what I wanted to do that night," he whispered in my ear before nibbling on it gently. My shirt was on the floor behind my head and then it only took a matter of seconds before his was lying beside mine. Edward and I seemed to be off in our own little world, the way that it normally was when we made love to each other.

"Oh God," I heard Alice screech and then cover her eyes. "I am so sorry." I whipped my shirt back over my chest and looked like a deer in the headlights. I couldn't even speak.

"You didn't see this coming," Edward barked getting up off the floor and trying to find his shirt.

"Sorry I was distracted."

"By what," Edward asked with his tone not softening one bit.

"I'm keeping tabs on the Volturi and figuring out when the planes are landing and if everything is okay and what my room is going to look like. Jes Edward, I can't always keep tabs on who is having sex in this house. I would never get anything accomplished."

I laughed very quietly before saying "I'm sorry Alice. We should have locked the door."

"It's fine because you two weren't actually having sex yet. Esme and I just got back with your furniture."

"We'll be down in a second okay."

Alice left shaking her head and I laughed embarrassed by the situation covering my face with my hands.

"I'm sorry love," Edward stated putting his arm around my shoulders. "I should have been listening to her thoughts."

"I'm kind of glad that you weren't."

"Why? So my sister could see us having sex," he asked with disbelief in his voice.

"Because that means that you were only paying attention to me." He chuckled slightly and kissed my forehead before he stood us up and we went downstairs. Esme was already moving furniture around the living room trying to figure out the best layout. Alice and Jasper were carrying in their bed and we went outside to see both of the U-Hauls stuffed full.

"The one on the right has our furniture on the left side," Edward said answering my thoughts, although he couldn't hear them.

We got exactly what we asked for, all black furniture. We got a black iron cast king size canopy bed, a black leather couch and dark iron and glass bedside tables with a matching coffee table and side tables for by the couch. Our cd player was then placed on top of a tall black and glass shelving unit and our cds and pictures accompanied the rest of the shelves.

After we had put all our furniture in our rooms we left the rest of the unpacking to be done later. We could get so much more accomplished at night anyways when all of the stores were closed and we didn't really have anything else to do. Edward, Renesmee and I took a walk to the car dealerships in town. We needed 3 new cars at the moment, one for Aedan and Camden, one for Ann, Alex, Carrie and John and one for Nahuel, Makeeda, Naira, Adisa and Huilen.

We hadn't yet to discuss the school situation but I knew that it would be talked about as soon as we were joined by the rest of our extended family. I was actually excited about going back to high school for the second time. The first time was miserable until I went to Forks but at least this time I would have my family with me. Looking at cars was getting annoying with Edward and Renesmee. I knew that I should have gone with Aedan and Camden, they didn't care what kind of car we got them, as long as they could drive. Well as long as Aedan would drive. Camden didn't want to drive, he absolutely hated driving.

The Audi dealer was first to deal with Ann's car and Aedan's car. I had a conversation with Ann before we left about what her dream car would be and there was an Audi dealer in town and they had exactly what I was looking for. A night blue colored Audi A6 with tinted windows with a black on black interior was exactly what she always wanted but she could never afford it. Then we found the perfect car for Aedan and Camden also. The Audi Q7 mid-size SUV. It was a phantom black color, the only color that they had left with tinted windows and a sun roof, which would be perfect because no human could see above the car unless they were in a tractor-trailer truck. It had premium black leather interior with silver accessories. Once we had the two cars we headed over to the Chevrolet dealer to get Nahuel his first car. Since it was the first time that any of them would drive we didn't want to get them too expensive of a car. It was a royal blue color on the outside and tan leather interior with silver trimmings.

Once we purchased the cars it was time to pick everybody up from the airport . Ann ran to the Audi that we bought for her and hugged it, jumping up and down and screaming. "Maybe I should have put a bow on it," I said with a sarcastic tone. Everyone chuckled a little bit before she ran up and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied hugging her back.

Carrie, Alex and John joined Ann at her car while Edward drove Nahuel's car with Huilen, Naira, Makeeda, and Adisa while I drove Nahuel and Renesmee home in Aedan's Audi.

A couple of days later I was dragged along on a shopping trip. Taking the two biggest cars only made sense. Rosalie, Alice and Renesmee took Aedan's car and Ann, Carrie, and I took Nahuel's Chevy. I didn't mind driving a slower car because I was used to Chevys anyways. The drive into town wasn't a very long one and we ended up at the local mall. It was the first time that any of us had seen it and it was huge. We needed to get new clothes for all the members of our family. Carlisle had given both Ann and Carrie their own credit cards, black platinum cards with what I was assuming, had an enormous limit in which to buy clothes for themselves and their mates and each of us had 2 of our own. Alice took the liberty to by clothes for Aedan and Camden, Nahuel and his sisters along with her and Jasper. She had more credit cars than anybody. Rosalie did the shopping for Emmett and herself while I shopped, reluctantly, for Edward and I. Renesmee didn't need to worry about anybody else.

We had gone shopping in the morning and needed to make trips to the cars quite frequently in order to discharge of our bags. We hit the mall separately in order to not cause such an uproar with the amount of money that 6 girls were spending together. We didn't leave the mall until it was almost closing and then we could barely fit into the cars. At that time we called Edward to have him drive down and get me and Renesmee who could no longer fit in the cars' back seats. Ann drove the Chevy home and Rosalie drove the Audi home once Edward showed up in his BMW.

"Thanks for coming to get us," I said getting into the passenger side of his car.

"Not a problem. I figured by you guys only taking 2 cars that one of us would need to come and get you. I know how you guys shop."

"You mean you know how they shop. You are going to be lucky if you have enough clothes."

"I'm sure that Alice bought me a few things, even though she had to shop for so many other people. She is a pro at this. Did you have fun Nessie?"

She didn't answer and Edward and I looked at her. She was already asleep in the back seat of the car. Edward and I looked at her with loving eyes before he put the car in drive and drove her home. He carried her downstairs to her room before putting her under the covers and kissing her forehead. I proceeded to kiss her forehead and turn the lights off before we walked back upstairs. Alice was already in the living room with clothes thrown everywhere. I noticed all of the different piles. Next time we were going to have to keep the bags separated. It's a good thing that we were all different sizes and had different styles otherwise it would have been impossible.

"Who's are these," Alice asked holding up a pair of lace boy short underwear and a matching bra.

"Mine," I said reluctantly.

"Label them next time please. We don't all need to be seeing your goodies."

"Alice you used to by all my stuff so don't even go starting with that."

Alice chuckled a little bit before throwing them into my pile, which was one of the bigger ones. Had I really bought all of those clothes? It took the entire night to get all of the clothes separated into the separate piles and then by the time morning came we were all dispersed in our own rooms putting our clothes away. Renesmee had woken up to a huge pile of clothes at the bottom of her bed and didn't even come upstairs to say good morning to any of us. I heard Alice yell a few times that her closet wasn't big enough. Poor Jasper, the guy probably had a foot of space in that thing. She ended up putting her formal dresses down in Renesmee's room in the basement because Nessie had the biggest closet of anybody.

By the end of the week all of the building was completed and most of the decorating was finished. Esme still didn't have everything where she wanted it even though she never left the house unless she forgot to get something. The night before we went to school, there was a house meeting. I was assuming that they did this every single time and considering the family had doubled in size since the last time they went to school, it was going to be a little bit more confusing this time. The "original" Cullens and Aedan and Camden sat down around our large dining room table, a dark mahogany, long rectangular table with matching antique chairs. Our newest additions then stood against the walls surrounding the table.

"Alice," Carlisle spoke first after we sat down. "Search the weather forecast please."

Alice face went blank and her eyes glazed over for a few moments before she opened her eyes and looked around the table. "We will be fine for the first week."

I saw Renesmee's eyes light up when she heard the news. I knew she was excited about going to school for the first time. I also noticed the way that Nahuel looked at her with almost loving eyes. I looked at Edward and he seemed to be in his own little world, not much paying attention to what was going on around him.

_Are you alright Edward,_ I asked him with my thoughts. He nodded at me in response. _Are you worried about Nessie going back to school?_ He nodded slightly again and looked at me. He smirked and turned back to Carlisle who was speaking again.

"We have a lot to accomplish tonight and it's something that you guys are going to have to memorize. Edward, Alice and Emmett are going to be the original Cullens. Esme and I adopted you guys when you were young teens. Rosalie and Jasper, you are twins again and Esme was your aunt when your parents passed away. Renesmee you are going by the name Vanessa Swan and Bella you are Bella Swan again. You were great friends with Alice and Edward back at home. You are cousins and your family was having a get together while you were at our house and there was a fire at your house. You never left again and we legally adopted you last year. Ann, do you guys want to go to school?"

Ann looked around to her friends and they all nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, Ann, you and Carrie are sisters who just moved here with your families. John and Alex you are best friends who are dating them and convinced your families to also move here. You are not related to us in any way. If you were then it would seem a little suspicious that we have so many kids living with us. Some of you are going to be sophomores and the rest are juniors. Bella, Alice, Edward, Nessie, Carrie and John are sophomores and Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Ann and Alex are juniors. Emmett you are going to be driving Rosalie and Nessie in your Jeep and Jasper is going to drive Edward's BMW with him, Bella and Alice. Ann you will be driving your Audi with Carrie, Alex and John. Since you are sisters and they are best friends, you can just pretend to pick them up every morning. As for Aedan and Camden, you guys are going to need to wait to come in until the middle of the semester. You haven't been vegetarians for very long and we don't want anything to go wrong. And the same goes for Nahuel, Adisa, Makeeda and Naira. You have problems with sticking to our diet and we don't want anything to go wrong so when we think you are ready then we will enroll you in the school and Huilen will be your mother when that happens. Everybody understand?"

Everybody nodded their heads.

"And I don't think that I need to mention this," he continued. "But do not tell anybody what you are. Stay clear as much as you can and walk at human speed, be a human for all intensive purposes. Nessie be sure not to show anybody your gift, it would be quite an uproar. And Edward, as usually, keep tabs on what people are saying and thinking."

"Not a problem," he replied before Carlisle dismissed the group. We said goodnight to Renesmee and tucked her into bed.

Edward gave her a kiss and walked up the stairs as I lied down beside Nessie in her bed while she put her head on my shoulder. Silence overcame the room for a few minutes.

She put her hand up to my forehead. _I'm scared mom._

"Why honey, I thought you wanted this," I asked running my fingers through her hair trying to relax her.

"I've never been to school before and I want to make new friends but with daddy around I'm not going to be able to do that."

"If you want to make friends tomorrow then go ahead but just be safe. I will keep your father in line."

"Really," she said excitedly. "You would do that?"

"Of course I would. You need the opportunity to meet new people. We all had that chance at one point and now it's your turn. You shouldn't have to be subjected to hanging out with your parents and your aunts and uncles. It's not fair to you."

"Thank you mom," she said giving me a hug.

"You're welcome. But just remember to keep the mom thing on the down low," I said with a chuckle. "I'm too young to have a daughter. And don't show anybody your gift. We're cousins remember?"

"Yes. Hi, my name is Vanessa Swan, it's nice to meet you," she said trying to sound like she was introducing herself to people. "My family calls me Nessie though."

"Perfect. Now you should get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow little girl."

I kissed on the forehead quickly and went to get up.

"Can you stay with me tonight, please," she asked me giving me a sad puppy dog look with her big brown eyes.

"Yes, I will stay with you," I said a little bit louder so that Edward would hear me. I wrapped her up in a blanket before I put my arm around her and she snuggled into my shoulder. She was sound asleep in minutes. Her dreams were enticing that night. They were mostly about what would happen tomorrow and the people the she would meet and how the other students would react to us being there.

_I'm staying here tonight,_ I screamed to Edward in my thoughts. _I really wish I could hear your thoughts. It would certainly make talking easier._ I heard him laugh upstairs. He was in the living room watching Comedy Central no doubt with some new stand-up competition on. _I love you._

"I love you too," he said through the floor. I smiled to myself and held my daughter a little bit tighter and her like that until early the next morning.

**A/N: All of the Cullen cars are on my profile at the very bottom.**

**I also put up a link to a picture of their house and any other things I've mentioned in detail**

**The new chapter will be up???? I have no clue.**

**Please Please review. I want a record of 10 for this chapter otherwise I won't post a new chapter. (J/K: I hate when people do that)**

**But 10 reviews would be fabulous.**


	16. School

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews in the last chapter. I asked for 10 and I got 11. Let's keep it up.**

**It's the Cullens first day of school**

**It will transfer between Renesmee's, Edward's and Bella's point of views. **

**Sorry it took too long. Enjoy.**

School

**Renesmee's Point of View**

5am, not the best time in the morning, especially when you have Alice jumping up and down on your bed yelling at you to wake up. I had wondered why my mom hadn't stopped her but I looked and she was no longer lying next to me. Now I was in my bathroom with Alice flickering through my waist long bronze curls and messing with my make-up. She ended up putting half of it up into a ponytail and letting the rest of it flow down my back.

"I have the perfect outfit for you," Alice yelled when she was finished running into my closet. She was already dressed and ready to go. I was really hoping that not everyday was going to be this big of a deal. For all I knew, the human population went to school in their pajamas everyday. I wish I could do that but living with Alice that was never going to happen. I reluctantly followed her in and she was standing with an outfit in her hands. She left me alone to get dressed and I heard her dancing up the stairs.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I had on a pair of skinny black pants with a red, white and black printed silk halter-top matched with a pair of short black booties (3 inch stiletto heels may I add) and a silver stuffed belt that matched the buckles on the boots. I didn't really think that high school was the right place to wear this outfit but where did I have the reason to say anything about it.

I had never been to school and now I was starting out in high school. I had been hearing from my family that it was great but I was still nervous. I saw a bunch of television where high school was hell. It was a popularity contest and people who were different were being outcast. I was different too and my family and I was afraid of what the other students were going to think of us.

I grabbed a purse out of my closet and walked over to my desk throwing a notebook and a few pens and pencils into a sleeve in the middle. I also grabbed a few dollars because I was expected to eat human food today. I looked at myself in the mirror again before I headed up the stairs. Everybody was sitting or standing in the living room. My family was all dressed and ready to go to school. I walked over to my mother and father and sat on my dad's lap. I did this a lot because I didn't want to sit on the floor. Apparently the reason that my mom wasn't there in the morning was because Alice had gotten to her too. Her hair was curled more than usual and she was wearing a pair of dark faded jeans and black stiletto heels with a white tank top and half a black jacket that was closed with a buckle. I knew that she was very uncomfortable.

15 minutes passed without anybody saying a word just watching the morning news. Nothing was really going on and maybe here we wouldn't have any run-ins with other vampires like my parents did in Forks. The Volturi coming didn't count, they were coming for me. But the others showed up for no reason. James, he tried to turn my mother into a vampire. She still has the scar on her arm for where he bit her. Victoria, James' mate tried to kill my mother too. Good thing that my father was there and so was Seth. Apparently my mother was a danger magnet, I wish I would have known her then, when she was human. I have memories of her from when I was born and she was still human but it's not the image that I want of my mother. She was pale, sickly pale and she looked like she was going to die. And then I was ripped away from her when I wanted to be in her arms so badly. I also remember the vampire Laurent who tried to kill my mother while my dad was gone but Jacob ended up saving her.

Jacob, urg. I just couldn't get away from him could I. I really missed him but I wanted to give him his space. He was getting married and he wanted me. I felt like I was the bad guy. I had to tell him to go away because I wanted him to be happy. He was happy without me before and he could be happy without me again. I missed him to no end though. I only hugged him at my party briefly and walked away, even though I wanted to sit and talk to him the way that we used to. I still wanted Jake in my life but I wanted him to forget about me so that he could be happy.

"Nessie, are you ready," my mother asked me getting up off the couch. "We have to go to school now."

I nodded my head and got off of my father's lap, before we all headed outside into the brisk summer morning in New York. I got into the back seat of Uncle Emmett's jeep as Rosalie got into the front. I didn't want to be away from my mother for even a second. I was too nervous. I smiled when she came over and got into the Jeep with me. She held my hand and used her finger to rub my hand, trying to calm me down. There was always something about what my mom did that could relax me at anytime. Putting my head on her shoulder, her running her fingers through my hair, rubbing my hand with one of her tiny fingers, and basically just her presence made me relax. We drove slowly to school, not wanting to be the first ones there but also not the last ones. Alice reassured us last night that everything was going to be fine today but that didn't make me any less nervous. My heart beated faster than usual as we pulled up to the beautiful school.

It was a big brick building that had to be 3 stories high and the original building looked like there had been construction to expand the high school, the only public school in Utica, Thomas R. Proctor High school it was named. We went around the back of the school to see a huge parking lot already half full. The back of the building was very architectural, with a large courtyard in the back with a large, round space filled with greenery. That one little piece reminded me of Forks, which made me miss home even more.

I didn't realize the car came to a stop and everyone was getting out until my mom squeezed my hand.

"Come on honey, it's time to go inside."

"Yes mom," I said quickly. "Bella," I corrected myself.

"Let's go Vanessa," she stated to me with a smile. I slid out of the car with my purse clenched against my body. I guess I just wanted to hold something close to me. My dad went to my mother and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled at me. _Is anybody wondering anything yet?_ He shook his head slightly in my direction.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered into my ear. All of us went into the office and got our schedules. Carrie, who turned out to be a good friend to me, Ann, John and Alex walked in after us. They asked for their schedules also and we made small talk about being new and trying to make it seem like we just met each other. It was all so strange. They gave us a quick tour of the school and we missed half of first period. Ann and I had gym together first period. Whoever had the idea that athletics were good first thing in the morning had to be insane.

"This is going to be a long day," I stated under my breath. Ann brushed her arm against mine, sending a chilly shot down my body. "Don't stun me."

"I won't. Everything will be alright. I'm here for you," she said to me with a genuine smile on my face.

**Bella's Point of View**

Having to leave my daughter was going to be hard but it had to be done. Alice and I went off to Spanish together before I could even think of my daughter.

"This is fun," Alice stated. "I've missed school."

Some of the other students looked at her like she was crazy. Not many high school students would say that they actually missed school over the summer but it had been 2 years since Alice went to school.

"Me too," I whispered to her. "Do you see anything," I asked as she stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. I pulled her into a corner next to the end of a row of lockers. "Alice, snap out of it. We are already late." It took another few moments but she was back in the world of reality. She looked a little bit frightened. "What is it?"

"The Volturi are coming back together again, Aro forced them," Alice whispered very quietly. "They are a few short though."

"Who," I asked eager to know what opponents we wouldn't need to be taking out anymore.

"Felix and Demitri," she responded quickly. "Come on let's get to Spanish. We'll miss how to say hello."

"Hola," I stated back. She smiled and chuckled a little bit before we headed off to class. The teacher introduced us to the class and we sat next to each other against the wall near the windows. I spent most of the time of class with my mind wandering in all different directions. Demitri being gone wouldn't be much, he was a tracker. If we were to go there that wouldn't mean that much of an advantage to us anyways. But Felix being gone was a good thing. He was evil and destructive and very violent, always wanting to start a fight. He had tried to kill Edward the last time that we were in Volterra. I didn't ever want to go back to that place. Aro must have been extremely upset in order for everybody to come back and join him, to stop causing havoc all over the city. I saw Alice go in and out of visions. I had to nudge her a few times to bring her back. It looked like today was going to be a very long day.

How were we going to proceed with the battle, if we even needed to have one now? Was them losing 2 of their strongest members enough to teach them a lesson? I also wondered who had the strength to kill Felix. Felix was one of the guys that used to accompany my nightmares and he still frightened me, although I knew that he would never be able to hurt my family or me again.

The loud bell interrupted my thoughts as I snapped back into reality and Alice I walked behind the rest of the class out the door.

"Well that was interesting," she whispered to me.

"Why? Has anything changed?"

"Aro keeps changing his mind about what to do with the Volturi. It's just giving me a huge headache is all. But they have killed so many people and they've been turning on each other. I think on the next outbreak is when we will need to intervene."

"So you see us in Volterra?"

"All of the time but I've seen them in Forks, out here. Sometimes I see us in a forest outside of Volterra, a huge clearing, their castle but it continues to change."

"But there will be an altercation?"

"Yes there is no way of escaping it. We are the only coven that could overthrow them and with the help from our friends it won't be too hard, I don't think."

"Do you think that they will replace their fallen members?"

"If we know anything about Aro then yes, they will."

"Alice, try not to think about it okay? Just think of Jasper, he always seems to calm you down."

"I have civics with him next so maybe he can through a wave of calm over me. He's going to be wondering what's going on."

"We should wait until lunch or until we get home to discuss this with everybody else."

"You're probably right. But we should go, we don't want to be late."

"Well we could always use the excuse that we are new and don't know our way around yet," I laughed. There would be no way that any of us would forget where we were going. I said goodbye to Alice and made my way to Algebra. I stood outside for a moment before breathing in a deep breath and stepping into the classroom. I smelled a few familiar scents and looked up to see my husband and daughter sitting side by side, with a seat open next to Edward.

"Hey," I said giving Renesmee a little squeeze on the shoulder and taking a seat next to Edward. "How's your day going Ness?"

"Good. Gym first period, you know."

"We'll talk about it later."

_How is she really doing _I asked Edward. He just nodded his head towards me and the teacher walked in.

"My name is Mr. Johnson. First of all we should go around the room and introduce ourselves."

We listened to the rest of the class introduce ourselves and then it was our turn.

"My name is Bella Swan and I just moved here with my family from Washington. I love reading and spending time just thinking."

"My name is Edward Cullen. I also just moved here from Washington and I love listening to music, composing it and I'm very interested in cars."

"And my name is Vanessa Swan. I moved her with my cousin and the rest of our family. It's a complicated story but I love to do so many things. Music and cars are my passions but I also like to shop and spend time with my family."

The next person went and I breathed a sigh of relief. The class passed fairly quickly and it was amazing to hear Edward say what people were really thinking. After I left Edward until lunch, I was upset that I didn't have more class with him.

**Edward Point of View**

After leaving Bella and Nessie I felt like I was alone. I could hear all of the voices and thoughts of the people around me but they all strayed away from me. A lot of the people were wondering about my family, where we were from, what exactly our story was and why Nessie and I looked so much alike even though we weren't really related. A few people suggested affairs by our parents and she was my long lost biological sister. They were all completely wrong.

I tried to pay attention through my classes although I had already studied the subjects millions of times. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. With the amount of people we had in our family now, we needed to sit at two separate tables. Renesmee, Bella, Ann, Alex and I sat at one table and Carrie, John, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice sat at the other.

'_Man those girls are gorgeous. Especially the one with the long curly hair. I would like to get with that'. _The voice came from a guy a few tables down from us. A little hiss escaped my lips as I continued to listen. '_She seems to be the only one available. All of the other members of that family are all over each other. Can you say gross much'?_

'_That Bella chick is some kind of hot,_ another voice started, interrupting the guy that I was listening to. _Maybe she isn't as taken as everybody thinks she is. I would like to take her and throw her down on my bed.'_

'_Edward relax,' _Bella's voice rang through my head. _'You're going to break the table.'_ I hadn't even realized that I had been gripping onto the table before I released my hand from it. All of a sudden the voices from inside my head disappeared and all I could hear where the thoughts of my family.

"Thank you," I said gratefully to Bella. She smiled at me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"You know that I can't do this all day."

"I know that you can't but I really appreciate it at this moment."

"You don't like people thinking about Nessie in that way do you?"

"Or my wife."

"People are thinking about me," Renesmee asked more excited than she should have sounded. I was her father, did she really think that I wanted to listen to what teenage boys were thinking about my 7-year-old daughter. No, I really didn't but she just seemed so happy about it. We were going to have to talk about the boy situation, urg, not the conversation that I ever wanted to have. Maybe Bella could talk to her about, it's supposed to be more of a mother daughter thing anyways.

"Yes they are Nessie but it's not in a good way." I looked over at Bella and she looked confused beyond belief.

"What," I asked.

"I just wish more and more everyday that I could hear what you are thinking."

"No you really don't." The last thing that I needed was for my wife knowing everything that was going on inside my head. The way that Renesmee was acting towards people when we weren't around (some guy named Ross), the way people were thinking about her and Bella, the impending doom that the Volturi would bring, most likely taking a member of our family, probably me. I kept thinking about my love, my wife and my daughter and I knew that I would do anything to save them, including sacrificing myself.

'_Cut it out would you,'_ Jasper yelled into my head. _I can't take your emotions any more man. Just don't worry about everything so much or you'll give me a heart attack.' _Edward laughed a little bit as Jasper sent a wave of calm in our direction and I felt the tension in my head go away and the thoughts of my family also became calm and serene.

'_Can I take my shield off now?'_

I leaned over and whispered in her ear "You can take off something else." If she was still human then I was sure that her cheeks would be blushing with the darkest shade of red anybody had ever seen. She snapped her shield off of me and it was like the floodgates were opening with a loud, almost over-powering buzzing coming into my head.

_That girl is really sweet, Vanessa she said her name was. I can't believe that she actually talked to me. She's so smart and beautiful, but what am I thinking. There is no way that she would give me the time of day. _

I looked over and realized that the thoughts were coming from Ross. He was almost the mere image of Emmett but his hair was short and straight instead of curly. And he was a few inches shorter but he was probably around my height but his build was the same exact way. A wrestler, a football player, weight lifter perhaps. His thoughts, however, were refreshing. After hearing all day about the way that Renesmee looks and the fantasies that these guys had in their heads, Ross had pure thoughts and it was good to here something nice about her.

The bell rang and we got up with the rest of the student body, dumping our trays of uneaten food into the trash. Bella and I went off to Biology together. We sat at the same lab bench and smiled at each other. I remembered the first time I saw her in Biology. She was so beautiful, so intelligent, and so clumsy and she smelled so good. I'm that I didn't do anything stupid that day because we wouldn't be sitting here today.

"Okay class, we will start with a brief introduction and then we will go onto labeling the different stages of mitosis."

Bella looked at me and cracked a huge smile and I returned it, knowing that she remembered that memory also. I didn't think that she would have retained so many human memories.

**Bella's Point of View**

I couldn't believe that I remembered the last time that I walked into Biology for the first time. It replayed itself over and over again in my head, the way that Edward looked at me that first day, the way that he held his hands in a first, the way I thought he was going to break the table and the way that he looked like he was in pain. I know now why he was in pain but I hated to see his face like that. Edward and I walked hand in hand to an empty lab table. He sat closest to the window and I took the aisle seat. I looked at him for what only seemed like a second, which was not long enough at all.

"Okay class, we will start with a brief introduction and then we will go onto labeling the different stages of mitosis."

I smiled at Edward and he smiled back at me. It was the first day all over again when he decided to finally talk to me, after a very extended absence. It was the lab that we had done and he didn't think that I knew anything about it. I had already taken honors biology in Arizona so I already knew the subject. Edward had a death grip on the table again. I sighed and threw my shield over him.

'_Is it about me again?'_ He shook his head no. _'Then Renesmee?'_ He nodded and smiled a little bit.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

My mind wandered again as I tried not to think about Alice's new discoveries. I lost that battle very quickly, wondering what would happen in Volterra. Edward then passed me a note.

What's going on love? You need to tell me. Crap, my damn mind and forgetting that my shield was around him

'_Alice saw something this morning but it keeps changing. Aro is trying to get control of everybody and Felix and Demitri are both gone, dead. We're not sure yet if they will replace those members or not. But Alice's vision keeps changing and the next big outbreak is when we should attack. But this will all be discussed tonight so we shouldn't worry about this until then.'_

Are you sure about that? Should we really do this?

'_I think that it's time for us to get over this without having to took over our shoulders for them to capture you or Alice. I couldn't let that happen to you or to her. I don't know what I would do if I lost either of you to the Volturi.'_

They want you too. I've read Aro's mind. And when he finds out about Nessie's powers, he'll want her too. Not to mention our new friends. A coven where every one of them has a power, and such strong ones at that and the fact that they are vegetarians it is not going to be good.

'_But Edward, I can't lose anybody.'_

You are one of the ones that voted for it. Bella, love, we are ready, more ready than we will ever be, You shield is very strong, stronger than any shield I have ever seen before, and we have enough people with enough powers so that nobody will get hurt or captured, I promise.

'_Do you swear Edward? I won't lose you?'_

I promise Bella, I will not get hurt.

He put my mind at ease a little bit but I finally threw my entire shield over him, blocking out myself also. I didn't want him to see what I was seeing inside of my head. My mind was playing tricks on me. I kept seeing pictures of Edward, lying in pain on the ground, scars all over him from fresh vampire bites, trying to stay alive. I tried to shake them away and just looked at the man sitting next to me. He was fine, he wasn't hurt and he promised me that he wouldn't get hurt.

The bell ran and it scared me, snapping my shield back to me like a rubber band. I was so surprised; I grasped the table and almost fell off of my seat. Edward then caught me from falling.

"You really need to watch what you are doing," he said to me, moving closer and closer to my ear.

"Go away," I told him sarcastically. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he whispered in my ear continuing. "For a vampire you are pretty jumpy."

I wanted to smack him as hard as I could but I knew it would be a little suspicious that the wall would break from the force of his body. I understood when it was a car but something told me that these people wouldn't like it too much. Instead I settled for gently smacking him in the arm. He laughed at me and put his hand on the small of my back leading me out of class. I needed to go to my history class, while Edward had gym with Emmett. I really would love to see Emmett in gym. I could just imagine when he got mad and then had to hold his composure to keep himself from popping the ball that they were playing with or punching the wall in. I thought about what was going on in gym all of my history class, not paying attention at all to what was going on. If I sat here daydreaming all day what was the point of me even coming to school?

At the end of class I then remembered that I had a music class with almost everybody from my family, leaving out Emmett and Rosalie, who had shop class. Rosalie really wanted to take it and Emmett went just so that he could be with her more than once a day.

I saw my daughter and she ran up to me and gave me a hug.

"Shield me," she whispered in my ear. I did as she asked and looked at her confused. "We'll go out hunting later and I will tell you," she whispered again. "I don't want daddy to know yet."

"Hi Edward," she said to him looking like she was hiding something. She walked passed him and into the classroom, following behind Ann and Carrie.

"What's going on Bella? I know that you two are hiding something from me," Edward asked me in a low hiss underneath his breath.

"She told me to shield her so I did. She doesn't want you prying into her mind before she knows what's going on. I don't even know what's going on but I will later. Come on, we are going to be late. We want to get a good seat."

We walked into class and saw the rest of our family sitting in a little circle, leaving two seats for us in the middle of their circle. That was our last class of the day and when it was over we got into our cars to go home. It was such a good day and I was really looking forward to what Renesmee was going to say.

**A/N: I hope that you liked it**

**The next chapter will be a family discussion and hunting**

**I'm not sure when it's going to be up**

**I want at least 10 reviews otherwise no chapter for you**

**(JK I like doing that. But it worked last time)**


	17. Discoveries

**A/N: So I was having a little bit of writer's block this week but I got some inspiration from seeing an old friend of mine.**

**Thank you all for the reviews, a record for last chapter was 12.**

**Thanks to everybody for the critiques and I know that my grammar is not perfect but this is what it is. I just try to get my chapters up as soon as they are ready and sent through spell check. **

**So here is goes. Enjoy!**

Discoveries

The entire ride home I was trying to keep my shield on Renesmee in the car in front of me, which is easier said than done. When we got home, Renesmee and I ran off into the forest without saying anything to our family. It wasn't usually like us to keep a secret from any of them but she needed to talk to her mother about something. A mother helping her daughter and I was happy that she would confide in me instead of Esme. I love the fact that she went to Esme for advice on things that she couldn't talk to me about but now she was going to talk to me about it. Once we were out of hearing range I took my shield off of her and we sat down on a few rocks in the middle of the forest. She looked at me and looked at a loss for what to say.

"What's going on honey," I asked her. "You know that you can talk to me about anything. You know I keep secrets better than anybody else in this family, especially from your father. Everybody else tells me their secrets, so can you. So what happened today?"

"I met a guy."

"A guy huh? What's his name?"

"Ross he goes by. And mom he is so sweet and he seemed nervous talking to me and he's just adorable."

"What does he look like?"

"A little bit above six feet with dark brown spiky hair and brown eyes that are identical to mine."

"And what did you guys talk about?"

"Everything from music to sports and he just seems so perfect mom. I think that I like him."

"You might sweetheart but just wait and see, you never know what may happen. Do you want me to have your father keep tabs on him?"

"No but I know that he will anyway. How was he doing today?"

"Not good, I had to shield him a few times just so that he would break something. He is just a little bit overprotective is all honey. He will get used to it eventually but he doesn't want anybody talking about his baby girl or thinking about her or me even. Most of the time when people talk about me he is freaking out too."

"I feel bad for daddy."

"Why?"

"Because he always has to deal with listening to what everybody is thinking and it can't be easy for him to never get privacy."

"I can agree with you in every way. I think that's why he loved me at first. The fact that he couldn't hear me gave him some peace and quiet whenever he was around me."

"But that's not true anymore."

"No it still is. I just talk to him through my thoughts sometimes when I don't want anybody else to hear me, like today for instance."

"What's going on that you don't want anybody else to hear?"

"That is none of your business, that's between me and your father."

"Too much info mom, jes."

"Sorry honey. So tell me more about this Ross guy and then we can go hunting like we are supposed to be doing."

"I don't know much about him mom, we've only had like one conversation. But I feel different, it's just weird because I have never felt this way before."

"And you look different too."

"What do you mean?"

"You seem to be smiling constantly for no reason. Your eyes are sparkling too. Honey I think that you should take this seriously but be careful. I'm a little worried about the differences."

"What differences?"

"You are a vampire too Renesmee. I don't care how big and strong this guy is you will hurt him if you aren't careful."

"I know mom," she responded. She seems to say that every time she really didn't feel like listening to me or when I repeated myself over and over again. "I'm just not sure if I should do this or not. I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

"If this is going to be serious then I don't want to end his life."

"That is going to be a hard decision if it comes to it but it will be his decision. Some people don't care if you're a vampire or not, look at me. I know what you are going through but I don't want you to get ahead of yourself. You haven't interacted with him much yet so let's just see how this plays out and later on down the road we will figure it out. Just before careful not to show him your gifts."

"I know mom," she said. There it was again. Having a daughter with an attitude, I guess I really was a mother now. "I used to hid my gift around Grandpa Charlie too."

I sighed at her and she gave me a hug as soon as she saw my expression. She tried not to talk about my dad because she knew how upset I still get by it. However, I hate making my daughter suffer because of my depression about my dad. She pulled away from me and I could see the happy glee in her eyes, even though she was trying the best that she could to hide it. Her cheeks also seemed to have a light pink tone to them, like she was constantly blushing. I smiled at her and took her hand in mine and led her back into the forest to go hunting.

When we got back to the house everybody was sitting at the table waiting for us to get back.

"Sorry it took so long," I smirked. "I hope you weren't waiting too long for us." I looked over to Edward and he was glaring at me like he was upset. It was probably because my shield was still over Nessie and he couldn't read her mind and it was going to continue to stay that way until she wanted to tell her father about the situation.

"No," Carlisle answered. "We came in here when we heard you coming. "Now have a seat."

Renesmee and I sat down in between Esme and Edward and then smiled at our family. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett also accompanied the table. I felt bad for Nessie when she would finally tell everybody because Emmett of all people was going to give her hell. It was now time to talk about the matter at hand, that I had completely forgotten about while I was dealing with my daughter's new discoveries.

"Alright Alice," Edward barked. "You've been blocking me out all day and now you can talk."

"Jez Edward, cool your jets," Alice responded. "You already know stuff unlike everybody else. She looked at me quickly with a little bit of a glare in her eyes and then looked around to the rest of the family seated around the table. "I had a vision of Aro this morning. He has been attempting to keep everybody in line. For now it is working but I still see us meeting. We could be here in a forest, back in the clearing in Forks, the forests outside of Volterra, their castle and a million other places. It just keeps changing because I'm looking at everyone's future, all of us, all of them, of our friends and it is just confusing me at the moment. When more is set into place it will become clearer. However I hadn't noticed until this morning that they lost two members of the guard. Felix and Demitri are gone. I'm not sure how or by who but I searched their futures, thinking that maybe they were just gone for the day, but there was nothing which could only mean that they are dead. Now we just have to figure out what we want to do."

She looked around the table and everyone seemed to be in deep concentration. I had already had time to think about this situation all during school so there really wasn't much for me to think about. I put my shield on Edward, breaking it from Renesmee so he couldn't hear her, because it has to be hard to think about issues when everybody else is yelling in your head, with their own conflicting minds. He also needed to make his own decisions instead of just siding with somebody else.

"Thank you," he said quietly to me. I smiled at him and he kissed my forehead.

'_What did you ever do without me?_' I thought to myself.

"I had a very big headache," he chuckled. I put my shield all the way around him so that I could think without him hearing my thoughts.

"I think we need to stick with our previous plan," Carlisle spoke first, like he always did. I don't think anybody would ever take that position from him. "We need to continue to be careful and keep planning. We want them to make the first move before we jump into anything with the Volturi."

"Another outbreak and we go to them," Alice stated immediately. "I can't stand seeing another outrage and all of those innocents right before their deaths. It will be up to us to take them down."

"There won't be a doubt right," Emmett questioned. He really wanted to get his hands around the Volturi so that they could stop tormenting our family, threatening to take certain members away, to be held captive and kill all of the others left standing. "I hate just sitting here not doing anything."

"We will continue to train," Edward interjected. "And we are going to need to kick it in high gear. We need to be extremely prepared for this battle. Bella's shield has never been stronger and Nessie," he stated starting to cringe. I guess he hated the idea of her being there as much as I did but she was one of the more powerful of us. "You need to get control of you telekinesis powers. I know that you have been working with them but perhaps John will be able to help you."

"And Nessie," Esme stated afterwards. "Practice those new tricks outside please and stop destroying my brand new vases."

"Sorry Grandma Esme," she said sounding like a 7 year old. Oh she was a 7 year old.

I had almost forgotten that our new family members had powers. Ann had an electric charge and was able to shock people from a distance while Alex was able to slow down to time or freeze people. I was going to have to talk to him about his powers because I was a little fascinated by it. Carrie was able to keep the peace of a massive crowd, kind of like Jasper but she couldn't manipulate all emotions like he could and John, of course, had telekinesis powers like Nessie.

After the meeting was dismissed, Edward, Renesmee and I went over to the other house and sat in the living room. The colors in their house were very bright with a lot of accents of blues, all different shades and accents of red in their kitchen. I was so used to Esme's classic designs with mostly white and the only color showing up in artwork through out the house. I loved Esme's ability to design but their house seemed more young and fun than ours did. The three of us sat on the couch and waited for Ann, Carrie, Alex and John. John and Carrie sat on the loveseat while Alex sat in the chair, pulling Ann onto his lap when she tried sitting on the floor. She flashed her bright smile and laughed a little bit as he tried to tickle her.

"So how was the meeting," she asked us after Alex gained control of himself.

"It went well I guess," I spoke. "We think that we are going to need help training and you may also. Alex and Carrie I would like to work with both of you to see if we can combine our powers together or something like that to make it work to our advantage. And John, if you could help Nessie better understand her powers then we would really love it."

"Not a problem," John responded. He smiled and looked at Nessie. "How long have you had your powers?"

"A few years but I have never really used them. I've been practicing and I can split a tree in half from at least 20 feet away."

"That's amazing, I don't think that I could do that but we will still work on it."

"What did you have in mind for me," Alex asked me directly. He and I had never really talked much because I was too busy talking to Ann to really get to know him. However, I did learn more about him from Ann so I wasn't completely lost.

"I was just wondering how exactly your powers work."

"Well I can freeze the moment that I am in. Look." I was staring at him for what seemed like a second and then he was standing in front of my face with flowers from the garden. "See."

"What did you just do?"

"I froze you and went outside and came back in. It tends to confuse people as well."

"Was it only me?"

"No I can freeze a whole moment. The only one that didn't freeze was Edward, which is weird."

"No it's not. My shield helped him out on that one."

"So my power won't affect you with your shield. That is interesting."

"It could work to our advantage. We have to get back over to the house and talk to everybody, formulate a game plan. I have a great idea."

I ran over to the Cullen's house and yelled for everybody to come into the living room. Aedan, Camden, Ann, Carrie, John, Alex, Nahuel, Huilen, Makeeda, Naira, Adisa, Edward and Renesmee came in after me and then the rest of our family descended down the stairs.

"What's up Bella," Emmett called. "We just finished a family meeting."

"I wanted to talk to you and guys and help us with an experiment outside please."

Everyone did as I asked and we were outside.

"Okay, the Cullens on one side and everyone else over here."

They all did as I asked and there was around 20 yards in-between them and Alex and I stood in the middle. I looked at Alex and smiled. I threw my shield over my family and myself as Alex used his powers to freeze time. It was totally crazy to watch as Cullens stood there, not knowing why nobody on the other side of the yard was moving. Emmett walked towards them and I kept my shield on him. He walked in front of Aedan and shook his hand in front of his face. Nothing.

"Nessie, I want you to concentrate," Edward whispered in his ear. "Lift up Ann and bring her over here."

Nessie's face became strained a little bit as Ann lifted up slightly from the ground and brought her over to underneath my shield. Renesmee smiled to herself as Ann came out of the freezing spell.

"What the hell just happened," she asked looking around at everybody. "Nessie was that you?" Nessie nodded and Ann gave her a hug. "I hate when Alex does that to me, he does it all the time when he wants to stay in the moment."

"Ann, keep your thoughts to yourself," Edward said shaking his head. "You do remember that I can hear what you are thinking?"

"Sorry Edward, I was just remembering is all."

"Why don't you do us a favor and use your power. I want to see something."

Ann looked across the yard to where she was standing just seconds earlier. I watched her look at Cassie and smile before she lifted her hands out in front of her. I didn't see anything happen but I knew by the look on her face that something that she was using her powers.

"Now lower your shield Bella," Carlisle asked from next to where Ann was standing. I lowered my shield and saw Cassie drop to the ground.

"Damn it Ann, what the hell was that for?"

"Edward made me do it."

Carrie glared at Edward and if looks could kill then Edward would be dead.

"What the hell just happened," Aedan asked noticing that Ann was across the yard and hadn't even seen her move.

"Alex froze all of you and using my power I prevented the Cullens from being frozen. Then Renesmee used her power to bring Ann over here and then Ann used her power against Carrie to prove that it was able to penetrate the shield."

"Wow," he said with astonishment. "Could I use my power too?"

"Yes Aedan," Carlisle said as everybody crowded around Alex and I. I was so happy that I had come up with a plan that might actually work. "Now we don't know if the Volturi have a shield, I'm sure that they are looking for one now. We need to look at this situation in the best way that we possibly can. Bella's shield will protect us all from the mental attacks from Jane and Alec but that means that she will be their first target. We need to keep Bella from getting hurt, that's going to be a priority because without her we will all be in an extreme amount of pain or not able to see what is going on around us.

"Aedan, Renesmee, and Ann you can all use your powers through Bella's shield and Alex you can prevent them from moving with your freezing power. And Camden you will be able to tell us who their new shield is, if there is one and Carrie you can manipulate them into thinking that they are at peace, which will also put you in danger. When we see them you are going to need to relax them into thinking that we aren't there for a fight and then we will attack. If all else fails guys then we are going to need to fight physically. You all know that I am not for any of this fighting but what they are doing is wrong.

"The Volturi need to be defeated and it is our mission to accomplish this. We will train every afternoon after you get out of school and I will be taking morning shifts at the hospital to give us more time in training. Jasper and Edward will lead the strategically fighting, while Emmett will show us how to use brute strength. Bella keep working on your shield and Nessie, keep ripping apart the forest and try to increase your strength by focusing on things from further and further away. Ann, try to see if you can increase your shock any because if you can power it up it will help us immensely. Bella also work with Aedan and Alex and try to use your powers together.

"Carrie try to remember that your power will be very useful to us and we need to be confident in ourselves. We know that we can beat the Volturi with our skills and our friends have already agreed to help us out. We will call them in about a month or so to do some training for a month or more, depending on how long it will take the Volturi to figure out what is going on or by them making a mistake. Alice, I know that you are having troubles but just keep your mind on the future. And I'm sorry for talking like I am the chief but I feel like this is the best strategy that we could have to ensure our own safety and the safety of the ones that we love."

Carlisle took a deep breath and smiled towards all of us, wrapping his arm around Esme's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. If he needed to breath then he would have had to take a breathe during his speech, which would not have been so dramatic. Edward came over to me and gave me a kiss.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered into my ear sending chills up my spine. "You're doing so great and you came up with such a good idea. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to start practicing." He scooped me up into his arms and ran us into our house while I heard our family behind us.

"We better not go into that house for a while," Emmett said seductively.

"Gross," Renesmee yelled.

**Ann's Point of View**

After I watched Edward and Bella run upstairs, I smiled towards them. They seemed to be more in love than anybody that I had ever seen. I walked over to Alex and gave him a big hug.

"Hey babe," I said digging my head in his chest.

"Hey you," he said back to me kissing the top of my head. "That was pretty cool earlier."

"You too but I think that we still need to practice."

"I think that you may need the practice but I don't. I'm doing perfectly fine thank you very much."

I slapped him playfully in the chest and zapped him softly.

"I hate when you do that," he said rubbing his chest.

"Then don't piss me off."

"You'll get it after, don't you worry."

He looked down at me and I shocked him again and laughed quietly. I walked over to Cassie, John and Renesmee.

"I don't think that you need help," I heard John say to Nessie.

"But my dad seems to think that I do and so does my mom. My head just isn't into this right now. I've had a long day."

"I'm not used to people around me having to sleep," I told her wrapping my arm around her. "You should probably get some sleep."

"I'm going to wait, maybe I'll take a walk."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"I think that I can take care of myself," she stated defensively.

"I know that you can Nessie but I was just wondering if you wanted the company. Maybe talk about school or something." I knew that there was something going on with her and I really wanted to know what it was. "Come on we can go for a drive, get some things in town if you want."

"I guess so, I was thinking about a new outfit anyways."

"Let's go, you can drive my car."

"Thanks."

I ran into my house and grabbed my keys off of my nightstand before heading back downstairs and grabbing my purse.

"I really should get my license," I said to Renesmee as I took a seat in the passenger seat and she adjusted the seat. "Sorry, I drive really weird."

"Not a problem. I always have to adjust the seat."

Renesmee turned the car on and we went down to the local mall in town. We shopped around a little bit and she ended up buying the perfect outfit for herself. At Hollister she found a think striped blue and white v-neck sweater t-shirt and a pair of light washed flare jeans with slits in the legs that never fully exposed her skin and she also bought a pair of black stiletto heels to go with it. We stopped and took a seat for a minute after she said that she wanted to talk to me.

"So what's going on with you Nessie? I know that you are hiding something."

"I met a guy."

"A guy, huh." I knew it. "What's his name?"

"Ross."

"And…"

"He is absolutely gorgeous and amazing. He has these really cute dimples and his smile is so wide and bright and he was so nervous talking to me. I just don't know what to do."

"You need to relax honey."

"I know I do but what do I do?"

"Talk to him Ness, let the situation go with flow. You just need to relax and let everything fall into place. He will make the first move if he knows what is good for him." I looked down at my phone and it was around 7 o'clock. "I think that we should get going so that you can do your homework and get to bed."

"Yeah that would be good. Do you think that you could help me tomorrow?"

"With what?"

"Helping me get ready."

"I think that is more of a Carrie or Alice thing."

"But I want you to help me, please?" She looked up to me and she looked so innocent and so persuasive.

"Fine, but only if you relax and talk to him tomorrow."

"I will do that."

We got up and she took my hand with a smile on her face. When we got home I gave her a hug before she went into her house and I went to mine. I instantly went upstairs to my room and lay next to Alex on our bed. I put my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me and I pulled my arm underneath him, pulling him as close to me as possible. I looked up to his beautiful face and smiled.

"I love you baby," I said looking him straight into his dazzling golden eyes.

"I love you too," he responded kissing me on the lips. I laid my head back down and he kissed my forehead and we spent the rest of the night laying like that until 5 when I was off to help Renesmee get ready for school.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading.**

**I love seeing the amount of hits and reviews I get**

**Let's make this a new record, 15 reviews please**

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**Let me know what you want to happen**

**New chapter up soon**

**I have spring break from school so hopefully I will be able to write a little bit**


	18. Hola

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter, a record of 13 reviews. Thanks so much.**

**Usually I don't mention this but thanks to those who have my story as their favorite, a total of 64 and counting, and then there are 36 alerts.**

**I was going to wait until I got 15 reviews to put this chapter up but the number of favorite stories after this last chapter made me put it up.**

**Here is the chapter, more at the bottom, enjoy.**

Chapter 18

**Renesmee's Point of View**

The morning came faster than I imagined with a lot of dreams that night. I missed school and I wanted to get there faster than anybody could imagine. Ann was by my side at 5 o'clock in the morning, just like Alice had been yesterday. I went into my bathroom and Ann turned on the curling iron while I grabbed a chair and sat in it.

"I had a vision Nessie," she told me taking my hair out of the messy ponytail that it was in.

"I thought Alice was the only one that could have visions."

"Well I can too but not as clear as Alice. Now be quiet and stay still."

"Not a problem."

She ran the brush through my long hair and started to use the curling iron, leaving loose beach curls through out my hair. She put a blue and white striped scarf around my head like a headband that matched perfectly with the shirt that we had bought yesterday.

"Where did you get this," I asked her as I looked at my hair in the mirror. She did as good of a job as Alice would have done on it. I looked more beautiful than usual.

"I pulled it out of my closet. I was there with you yesterday and I thought that it would match perfectly so there you go."

"Thank you Ann."

"You're welcome. Now wear the outfit that we bought yesterday and you will do great today, I promise."

I did as she asked and when I came out into my bedroom, she was holding a navy blue messenger bag for me. I smiled and took it, surprised that it matched my outfit. Had she bought this when I wasn't looking yesterday.

"It's Alice's," she said answering my thoughts. So now she could see the future like Alice and read minds like my father. "I showed her the headband and she said that this would look cute and you could carry your books in it. Did you finish your homework?"

Now she was my mother too. "Yes I finished my homework."

"I put some gym clothes in there too. We can share a locker if you want."

"Sure."

I was glad that Ann was here. She was a friend of my mom's but she was also my friend and it was good to have somebody know everything about me that wasn't a part of my family. I checked myself in the mirror one more time after I put my shoes on and I had to admit that I looked different then I normally do. I looked more grown up, more sophisticated and sexier. I smiled and followed Ann upstairs to where everybody was sitting in the living room. Alice's eyes filled with a little sparkle when she saw me.

"You did this on your own," she squealed before running over to me and giving me a hug. "You look adorable."

"Thanks," I said blushing slightly. Damn my mother and her blushing habits.

"You look beautiful baby," my dad said approaching me and putting his arms around my shoulders. "Any particular reason?"

Great, he was never going to get off my case about this was he, though my mom had probably told him to keep tabs on what Ross was really thinking about me. I hated the fact that my dad could read minds, even when I was in my mother's stomach.

"No, it's just school."

He looked at me like he wanted to say more but closed his mouth before any words could come out. I looked down at my feet and took a seat on one of the chairs in the living room. We still had around 20 minutes before we had to leave for school and I took the opportunity to look over my homework instead of being interrogated by my family. The room stayed in a deadly silent as I tried not to focus on the eyes that were piercing a hole through me.

Esme walked into the room and said "Okay kids, it's time for school." I looked at her and smiled as she looked like she was ushering a bunch of kindergarteners outside to the bus stop. I chuckled a little bit, seeing the image in my head of what my family would have looked like when they were so small.

I continued to think about it on the way to school. I was more nervous about seeing Ross again today and talking to him then I was about the upcoming events with the Volturi. I saw Emmett as a little boy, cute as a button with his dimples and he was bullying my dad, he was smaller than most of the boys with his hair a mess. Uncle Jasper was calm and quiet, not paying attention to the other kids around them except for Aunty Alice who was tiny and running all over the place. My mother sat to herself as the little boys tried to pick on her but she didn't seem to care and Aunt Rosalie had her blonde hair flowing down to the middle of her back trying to be the center of attention. Ann was playing kickball, intentionally aiming the ball at poor Carrie, who looked like she was about to kill her as John and Alex stood to the side laughing at them. I then saw myself wandering around in circles, trying to figure exactly what I wanted to do. I looked like I was sad and confused as I watched everybody in their own little situation. I went over to the little version of my mother and beat up the boys that were picking on her. I laughed quietly to myself and I wished that I could take a picture of my mental image I would. Oh now I remember, I can.

When Emmett pulled up to the school and put the car in park I ran over to my mom and put my hand to her head. As the images I had of my family in kindergarten ran through her head it was hard for her to hold her composure and when I pulled away she instantly started laughing. Everybody was looking at us with a confused expression, except for my dad who had seen it in my mind. I was doing okay at blocking him on my own and I figured that my mom needed a rest by now. I continued to show everybody else what I was picturing and they had the same reaction as my mother. The kids must have thought that us Cullen kids were crazy but I didn't care.

I saw a few of my classmates looking at us and shaking their heads before laughing themselves. Little did they know what we were actually laughing at. Ann and I went to gym after saying goodbye to everybody and we were playing volleyball inside because the forecast said that it was supposed to rain, even though I knew that it wouldn't. Ann and I enjoyed gym, pretending to suck at everything. I pretending like I was my mother, again, where I had no coordination at all and "accidentally" hit the bleach blonde in front of me in the head. I heard her talking about me in the locker room and although I know it's not right for me to hurt somebody, I just couldn't resist. Ann and I laughed with each other for the rest of the class.

I got changed in the locker room back into the outfit that I had carefully picked out and I looked at my hair. I didn't want it to be messed up from sweating in gym and thankfully every wave was still intact. I smiled and met up with Ann to walk away from class. My Algebra class with my parents went quickly, surprisingly, but I was too busy thinking about what I was going to say to Ross in our Spanish class 4th period. I still had to go to English lit with my father and I was afraid that he would see right through me.

I tapped nervously on my desk as my English/Lit class was coming to a close. Either my mom still had her shield on me or my dad just didn't want to make a scene in the middle of class because he didn't even seem like he was paying attention to anything. Maybe he was just drowning out everybody. The bell rang and I almost jumped out of my seatwith excitement. I went to my locker, thankful that my dad just went to his history class and didn't bother to escort me. I needed time to think without worrying about what my father was thinking. I dumped my English book in my locker and grabbed my Spanish book and notebook.

"Hi," a smooth voice said to me. I practically jumped out of my skin and almost hit my head on my locker. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

I looked up and saw Ross standing next to my locker looking down at me with his tall frame and his goofy grin stretching across his face. "I'm fine, you just surprised me is all."

"You look nice today."

"Thank you," I said nervously trying not to think about the little blush that was surely making it's way into my cheeks.

"How was the rest of your first day," he asked as I closed my locker and then leaned against it. The way that he spoke to me made me so nervous and I had no idea why one person could do that to me.

"It was good, long. I had a lot of classes with my family."

"You have a big family don't you?"

"Well yeah but my adoptive dad just has a big heart is all. I had been friends with Edward and Alice for a long time and I think that's why he took in my cousin and I."

"Your cousin is Bella right?"

"Yes."

"And Edward and Alice are also adopted by the Cullens," he asked not sure of himself. Apparently he had been asking around because I knew that he wouldn't talk to my family unless he was looking for a death sentence.

"Yes and so is Emmett and then there Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They are Esme's niece and nephew."

"You must have one really loud house."

"I do but I have a room in the basement so I get to be secluded from them as much as possible."

"Do you mind if we walk to class together?" The inside of my stomach was doing flips over and over again and I didn't even feel like I could talk. When he asked about my family I was able to talk to him just like he was any other person but when he asked to walk to class, the class that we had together, I wasn't able to speak. He was just being courteous, offering to walk me to class but I nodded my head and we headed off to our class.

"So how long have you lived here," I asked trying to get the conversation off of me and onto him. Plus I genuinely wanted to know more about him.

"I moved here about 2 years ago from Massachusetts. My dad wanted to move away from home when my mom died and we moved here to kind of get away from that."

"I'm sorry about your mom, what happened?"

"She had cancer. We knew that it was coming but it was still hard none-the-less. What about your parents? You're adopted so something must have happened to them."

"They died in a fire along with the rest of my family. Bella and I were visiting the Cullens to kind of get away for a little while and I guess we never left."

"I'm sorry about that. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your entire family."

"It was hard but the Cullens are like a second family to me so I guess that I still have a family."

What was wrong with me? This guy had actually lost a parent and here I was pretending that my parents died in a fire when in reality my parents were perfectly fine. I didn't want to lie to Ross, he seemed like he had been through so much and he was feeling sorry for me because he thought I lost both of my parents. Little did he know they were in their gym class probably listening to what we were talking about.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters," I asked trying to get off of the topic of death.

"I have 2 older brothers, Scott and Steve. They are both away at school right now."

"Are they that much older than you," I asked trying to figure out exactly how old he was. He fell for my trap instantly.

"Well I'm 16 almost 17 and they are in their twenties. My parents thought that they were all done having kids and then poof, there I was," he laughed. I loved his laugh and the way that his face looked when he laughed because the action made his dimples even more noticeable.

"That's cool. I never had any brothers or sisters, just Bella, but she was always like a sister to me."

"When is your birthday," he asked me, curious, good.

"I just had my 16th birthday August 24th."

"And Bella?"

"She'll be 17 on September 13th."

"So you are only about a year apart."

"Yeah I swear my mom saw Bella and saw how cute she was and said 'I want one' and here I am."

He chuckled again as he opened the door to our Spanish class for me. We sat down next to each other in the little half circle that the desks were in. I liked the idea of him sitting only about a foot away from me.

The entire class I kept looking over at him and I was wondering what he was thinking. Once in a while I would see him look at me and smile and then look back up to the teacher. I couldn't concentrate again and I now understood why some people did bad in school, they were too busy thinking about the boys that they liked. And who ever thought of putting students so close to each other anyways. Remind me to thank my teacher later.

**Ross' point of view**

I talked to her and now I have to stop the damn roll that I am on. I wasn't tripping over myself or stuttering at all. I hate Spanish but I love the fact that I am here with her today. She really does look nice today, even better than yesterday but I wonder what that hair of hers really looks like. She must look adorable first thing in the morning when her hair is all messy and covering her face. She probably wears fuzzy pink pajamas or something. I looked over at her and I thanked God that her hair was out of her face. Her dazzling brown eyes seemed to overcome every thought that I have ever had. She moved her face to look at me and I looked down at my paper, pretending to understand the material that we were going over. I was more than likely going to fail this class if I had to sit within inches of Vanessa all day.

I continued to watch her out of the corner of my eye, watching her put her hair behind her ear when it fell into her face and the way that she smiled like she was replaying a funny movie in her head. I never wanted this class to end but of course it went by faster than I wished it had. When the bell rang it was time to go to lunch and I was sure that Vanessa was going to sit with her family again. I saw that kid Edward looking at me yesterday and I swear that he was trying to see what I was thinking.

Vanessa and I got out of our seats and quickly fell into a rhythm walking with each other to lunch.

"That class sucks," I stated to her to start the conversation back up again. I wanted to hear her voice, I didn't want to walk in silence. Her beauty still astounded me.

"Yeah but I'm glad that I already know what we are learning."

"So you speak Spanish," I asked. This girl knew everything didn't she?

"I can speak the basic terms but that's only because I took two years back in Washington and I aced the classes. I never really did anything else besides school."

"You didn't go out at all," I asked. I was curious to see what my chances where.

"No I really didn't. I had a few good friends but I stuck with my family. I just never found a need to go out all the time." _Damn,_ I thought to myself. Now all hope was lost. "But who knows," she added. I couldn't help but let a smile creep across my face. "Maybe now that I'm here I could start going out soon. I got my permit so I can drive with an adult. All I need now is to wait 6 months to get my license."

"Well I have mine but I need to get a car." I think I saw her smiling at my comment. I decided to just go with the flow as I grabbed whatever was in front of me for lunch. I hated my huge appetite, I was going to look like a pig. Now I sound like a girl, great. This girl is making me into a chick, but it's well worth it. She paid for her lunch before I could even try to pay for it and I paid for mine and to my surprise she was waiting for me. "Do you want to sit with me today," I asked her. I just let that fall right out of my mouth and she contemplated it for a minute. She looked over to her family and the bronze haired boy, the one name Edward, nodded his head and I saw her cousin Bella smile and the little pixie girl jump up and down with excitement. Man that house must be crazy.

"I would love to," she said nervously and I saw her cheeks become a light pink color. I loved when she blushed, she looked even more beautiful then she normally did. I escorted her to an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria, hopefully nobody would pay attention to us. I just wanted to be alone with her and I didn't care who knew that. I just didn't want any distractions between us. I wanted to know everything about her and I wanted her to know everything about me. She took a seat and I sat down next to her, as close as possible.

"Aren't you going to eat," I asked her as she stared meaninglessly at her food. "It's not as bad as most, come on and eat."

She smiled at me and looked at her food with disgust written all over her face. She took a smile bite of the pizza that we both got and looked at the pepperoni and flung it back onto her plate. She ate the entire piece of pizza off the plate and looked like she had just drunk blood instead.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

"Aren't you going to eat," Ross asked me. I looked up at him and he said "It's not as bad as most, come on and eat."

I can't believe the lengths to which I was willing to go to make this guy happy. I took a small bite of the piece of pizza in front of me. The pepperoni actually made it worse. I procedded to take off the pepperoni and basically chuck them onto my plate. And there was no way that I could just get rid of the food because Ross was looking at me intentially the entire time. Perhaps if Alex knew what was going on he could have freezed everyone long enough for me to throw the piece of pizza away.

I tried to ignore the looks that my family was throwing me as I ate the food but mostly because I didn't want to see the expressions on their faces about the whole situation with Ross and I, although there probably wasn't much of a situation. I was trying not to get ahead of myself as I swallowed down the last piece of the pizza. From now on at lunch all I would get would be a piece of cheese pizza and if I needed to eat then I could bear with that. I looked over quickly to my table and saw my dad laughing quietly and turning to my mother whispering something into her ear. It went around the tables like that until they were all laughing in unison.

"I wonder what's so funny," Ross asked in-between eating his food. He eat so much no wonder he was so overpowering. If Emmett were a human, I was sure that those two would have a food-eating contest. However, it would even funny if Ross challenged him now because no matter what the challenge Emmett is always willing to accept it.

"Yet another inside joke with my family that nobody would ever understand."

"I want to meet them sometime," he said bluntly and out of the blue.

"Give it time and I bet that you won't. My family isn't what you would call normal."

"Yeah but who's really is. The perception of what is or isn't normal has altered. Nobody is normal and the people who think that when somebody is different means that they aren't normal has some serious issues."

Yeah but a whole group of vampires really isn't normal. "Good outlook."

"Thanks."

"So do you think that maybe sometime that you could help me with Spanish? I know that I am going to do horrible at it."

Oh my God, did he just ask me on a date? No, it's just to study, for me to tutor him, why am I getting so ahead of myself? "Sure, no problem. Let's see how the first week pans out. If you have troubles then perhaps over the weekend we could do something."

"I'm sure I will have troubles so clear your schedule."

He made it seem like he wanted to hang out, whether Spanish was in the equation or not. It made my stomach flip on the inside and my already panicky heart-rate was quickening.

"Schedule cleared," I declared.

Not to long after our conversation ended, the bell rang for us to get to our next class. Great now I had to deal with Alice. I was about to get up when she came skipping over to our table.

"Hi Vanessa, who's your friend," she asked but I knew full well that she knew who he was by now.

"This is Ross, Ross this is…"

"Hi I'm Alice," she said reaching out her hand to his. He shook it and I could see him shiver from the coolness of her skin. "Sorry I'm a bit cold today, too much soda not enough coffee."

"Like you need any of that," I said. "You're already too perky to begin with."

"I'm Ross, it's nice to meet you Alice. Well, umm, Vanessa, I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"That you will."

He looked like he wanted to say more and not leave, but he turned away reluctantly and headed for the door.

"Great Alice, you scared him off."

"Just be glad that I am the first of the Cullens to meet him. I'm the easiest one."

"You have a point there."

"Imagine when Edward and Ross meet, that will be interesting," she said as she put her arm around my shoulders and we headed off to class.

Music was at the end of day and it was ackward the entire time. My family seemed to be fixated on me and I was wondering if they were all trying to read my mind. I told my mom not to shield me anymore, hoping that my dad diving into my head was better in a public place with witnesses instead of at home where I would be getting yelled at. At the end of the day I went to my locker by myself and told my family that I would meet them there. I needed to get a few books to do homework and then it was off to go train.

"Hey there," a now familiar voice said to me. I again jumped.

"You've got to stop doing that," I said holding my heart with one hand and playfully slapping him with the other.

"Sorry but I just wanted to get you alone without your family around."

"Why is that," I asked Ross. I really wanted to know what was going on inside of his head and I was hoping that he would tell me. Thankfully, all my dreams were coming true today.

"I didn't get to give you a hug after lunch and I really wanted to."

"Oh." I looked at him and he was looking down at me, like he was asking for permission. I threw my arms around his chest; it was about as close as I was going to get to his shoulders, even with 3-inch heels on. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. I'm guessing he thought that it was tight but nothing could ever beat the strength of uncle Emmett's hugs. He then released me and smiled. "Well I've got to go and get to my family before they get worried," I said not ever wanting to escape that embrace of his. It was so warm and filled with emotions that I never wanted to let go. I grabbed the rest of my books, putting them into my messenger bag and closing my locker.

"Mind if I walk you to the parking lot," he asked me.

"Not at all, just no hugging in front of my family. They are a tid bit over protective." And that's to say the least.

"Then one more now for safety," he said engulfing me into his arms again. I smiled as I breathed in his scent and it was one that I would never forget. He smelled so good, like a mixture of fabric softener and a really good cologne. I hugged him back and we released walking to the parking lot. Once we were there we said our goodbyes and I headed to the cars, sliding into the backseat of Emmett's jeep with 10 pairs of eyes fixated on me.

**A/N: Poor Nessie and those intimidating Cullens.**

**Anyways I have been having computer issues lately, I had a virus but I think I got rid of it by restoring the computer so I shouldn't take too long to update again.**

**But don't hold me to my word too much.**

**Alright I am going to ask again, considering I keep on rising, 15 REVIEWS THIS CHAPTER!!!**

**Any input is great and thanks again. Anything you want to happen, let me know.**


	19. Interrogation

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry. I meant to write this all week but I've been really busy and my computer has been screwy.**

**Thanks so much to everybody that reviewed, I reached my goal of 15. Yippee. Keep it up.**

**Here it is, chapter 19, enjoy!**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

I was afraid of the consequences that I would get when I walked through the door of the Cullen house. I saw Emmett looking at me in the rearview mirror like he wanted to say something but instead he just thought about it and a goofy grin was on his face the entire ride home. The ride didn't take as long as I wanted it to. I wanted to sit in the safe confines of the jeep with Emmett and Rosalie because I would rather deal with Emmett any day then the out lash that my father was sure going to give me. I just sat in the backseat looking down out my feet. When we pulled up to the house I heard everybody get out of their cars and go into the house. I was still trying to get up the courage to get out and join them inside.

I sat in the jeep for a few minutes, not moving an inch from the position that I was comfortable in. I knew that everybody was impatiently waiting for me in the house and that bothered me. I looked up and got out of the car, dragging my bag by my side like a lost little girl. Perhaps I would be after this conversation.

I slowly turned the handle on the door and saw what I was dreading. My entire family including my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my parents and all of my new extended family were sitting in the living room awaiting my arrival. They all stared at me as I entered the room and sat in the chair that I'm sure that they reserved for me. My mom was sitting on my father's lap next to Jasper and Emmett, with Alice and Rosalie sitting on the floor in front of them. Alex and Ann were on the loveseat with her legs thrown over his lap and Carrie and John were sitting on the chair adjacent to mine. Esme and Carlisle stood behind the couch were my parents were sitting and my chair was in the middle of the expansive room like the police were interrogating me. My grandpa Charlie would have loved this.

I didn't have the strength to look up at my family because I knew that they were all waiting for me to say something. Nobody wanted to be the first one to say anything but I knew what they were all thinking. I didn't need to be a mind reader to figure that one out.

"Say what you want to say dad," I said in a mere whisper. I couldn't look him in the eyes, I just couldn't. I felt like I had disappointed my father.

"You haven't disappointed me," he said. Damn! "I just want to know what the hell you are thinking?"

"I honestly don't know. I just like the way that he makes me feel. He seems to be interested in me for who I am, not what I look like. He seems genuine."

"Nessie do you realize all of the complications that go with this?"

"Of course I do," I yelled and looked up at him. "You don't think that I have thought about that at all. That's what I am worried about. I'm afraid to touch him. I don't want to hurt him, I don't want him to feel how warm my skin is, I don't want him to know that you guys are my real parents and most of all I don't want him to know that I'm half-vampire. I never thought that I would think of somebody like this, I thought there was something was wrong with me. With Jacob and the whole imprinting thing, he is supposed to be my soul mate. He is supposed to be the one that I fall in love with and blah blah. I just never had those feelings for him, I never will. I thought that there was something wrong with me, that I couldn't just love the one person that is perfect for me, so to speak. And I'm not saying that I am in love with Ross, we haven't talked that much yet. I just know that I feel something different for him then I have for any other person before. Dad, you have to understand where I am coming from, especially considering how you and mom met. You can't hold this against me."

"Renesmee," he said softly. He had his fingers holding the bridge of his nose like he was thinking really hard. "You need to take this slowly."

"I am."

"Then what the hell was the hug thing," he asked raising his voice to me.

"He hugged me dad, it's just the way that he is. He wasn't trying to get in my pants. I could at least feel that. It was inviting and it was nice. I hate to break it to you but I liked it. And I know that you are my father and that you care a lot about me but this is my decision. I don't need it on parade for everybody in this family to interject their opinion into the situation. I don't know what I am feeling right now. All I do know is that when I see him I can't stop smiling, I get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach trying to figure out what he is thinking or analyzing every little movement that he makes."

"Honey," my mother said in a calming voice. "We are not putting you on trial here. We are just trying to figure out what is going on so that we can better understand it. I know that your father tends to overreact a little bit. I know that more than anybody but you just need to take things slowly. Be careful."

"I know mom, I know. I'm not going to go jump into his bed or anything and I'm not going to show him my gifts or blurt out the wrong thing. I have been going over it again and again, trying to figure out what I am feeling. I don't know but I'm not going to ignore him."

Everybody sat in silence. It was deafening. I didn't know what everybody was thinking and I wanted to know. Yet again I was wishing that I had my father's powers. The room was silent for what felt like hours but it was only a few minutes.

"Nessie's got a boyfriend, Nessie's got a boyfriend," Emmett chanted over and over again. I bet he had been holding that one in all day. I glared at him and stormed out of the room and ran outside into the New York afternoon. I made my way into the woods and started tearing apart the forest that was in my way.

Apparently anger fueled my abilities more than I had thought. If we were going to fight I was going to have to be antagonized before hand. Emmett's little wise cracks were normally funny but that was not the time or place to be making jokes.

The rest of the day I barely talked to anybody as we practiced in the backyard and in the woods. John helped me with my abilities, having me focus more and more on making my abilities more powerful. He really was a great teacher, being very patient with me even when I got tired. The rest of my family basically stayed out of my way for the most part. Around bed time my mom and I sat in my room after I had taken a shower.

"I wanted to talk to you alone," she said to me sitting at the bottom of my bed with her legs crossed looking at me lying underneath the covers. I propped myself up with some pillows and looked at her, edging her to continue. "I know that you are confused right now and that you are sick of being watched like a hawk. But I just wanted you to know I used to feel the same way as you do."

"You did?"

"Your father did that to me when I was a human. The way that your stomach is flipping and you don't know anything except for the fact that you want him around. I know that you are young and you haven't been alive for very long but sometimes love comes around quickly and it's something that even if you don't want it to happen it is going to happen anyways. I just want you to know that I support you in every way, no matter what you choose to do or who you do it with. Ross is welcome here anytime and as for your father I will keep him in check."

"Really," I screeched jumping across the bed and landing on top of her giving her a hug. "You support me?"

"Of course I do. Ross seems like a descent guy and although your dad wants to think badly about him he has nothing but good thoughts about you."

"Speaking of, would you mind telling me what was so funny at lunch today?"

"Edward was listening to his thoughts as he watched you eat the piece of pizza and he thought that it looked like you just drank blood."

I looked at my mother for a moment before I busted out laughing. I lifted myself off of her and curled back up under my blankets still laughing.

"Now you see why were laughing so hard."

"Yeah. Little does he know that it's the exact opposite."

"And it's going to stay that way."

"Of course. I wanted to run something by you."

"Okay."

"Well you said that he was welcome here anytime and I kind of mentioned to him today that if he needed help with Spanish that I would help him and we kind of made plans to hang out this weekend. Do you think that he could come over here for the day?"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"Is there any way that we could get everybody out of here."

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, you will not be alone in a house with a boy," she spoke with an intimidating voice.

"I know that but I just don't want dad here or Emmett or Jasper or anybody."

"Who could you deal with?"

I pondered over it for a minute and I would have chosen Ann and Alex except for the fact that Ross thought that we just met at school and there would be no reason for them to be at my house all day. My dad was out of the question and any of my uncles. Basically it left me with Rosalie, Alice, Esme and Carlisle. If it was Rose and Alice then it might have resulted in Ross getting an unexpected makeover.

"Grandma and grandpa. I figure that parents being home on the weekends isn't such a crazy idea."

"No worries honey. I will organize something for all of us to do to get us out of the house without there being any troubles."

"Thank you mom," I said while yawning. "I guess I'm always going to be busy between school, practice and homework."

"And add a boy into that equation. Now you know how we all used to feel."

"Fine, I'm tired."

"Sweet dreams sweetheart," she said quietly giving me a kiss on the forehead and tucking in the covers around my body. "I love you."

"I love you too mom, thank you."

"You're welcome."

I heard my mother escape upstairs and I was asleep before I heard her walk up the stairs to go to her bedroom.

**Bella's Point of View**

I can't believe I just allowed Nessie to have a boy over this weekend. I knew that she wasn't stupid but I would never be brave enough to have a guy come over to this house, knowing that the Cullens would all be in the woods using their super hearing to listen to everything that was being said and Edward would be listening to their thoughts. Now was going to be the hard part, convincing Edward that it would be a good idea. That will go over well.

"Hey," I said entering the room to see Edward lying on our massive bed with his arm across his face. "Are you alright?"

"Is it possible for a vampire to get a headache," he mumbled towards me.

"I don't know but I've asked myself the same thing before." I walked over to our bed and lay down next to him. "What are you thinking about that's giving you such a headache?"

"It's not what I'm thinking, it's what they're thinking." I looked over to him and sighed. I didn't know what to do and I didn't think that now was the best time to ask him about what to do this weekend. I was thinking over all of the different situations and outcomes that were possible. No matter how I would decide to talk to him about it he would still freak out. I would understand where he was coming from because he just cared about his daughter and didn't want to see her get hurt. But fathers aren't supposed to protect their daughters forever. We were going to have to let her grow up eventually and while I thought about it I just decided to come right out with it. "So I was thinking that we could go away for the weekend."

"Who?"

"Us and Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett, I think that it would be fun," I said trying to sound enthusiastic about it hoping that he wouldn't even question me. But if he didn't then he would be the Edward that I knew.

"What about Nessie," he asked taking his arm off of his face and looking at me. I was perched up on my side looking at him intently.

"I think that she would love to have the house to herself."

"Why," he asked even though he probably already knew exactly what I was getting at. I just didn't want to tell him out loud, I wanted him to say it.

"I really don't want to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because I already promised her that we would all get out of the house this weekend."

"So that Ross could come over?" His face didn't change at all and neither did his eyes. I thought that at least his eyes would be pissed off but he just looked like he was frustrated.

"Kind of," I said kind of ashamed with myself. "I just want her to feel comfortable and I know that if all of us are home then she won't feel comfortable."

"So you want me to leave our daughter home alone with some hormonal teenage boy."

"No. Carlisle and Esme will be home. I think that they are the best members of this family for Ross to meet first. They won't hover like we would or make fun of them like Emmett would and Alice wouldn't be taking his measurements. I just want both of them to feel comfortable, like I said. Please Edward, she wouldn't do anything that you and I wouldn't do when we first started dating."

"And we were married less then 2 years later."

"And we are perfectly fine aren't we?"

"Yeah but…she's my daughter."

"I know and we have to let her grow up."

"But I don't want her to get hurt."

"Well lucky for us if Ross hurts her then he will have to deal with this entire family and that's down right scary." I chuckled a little bit but his expression didn't change at all. "She's going to have to learn from mistakes if this is one. Let her make her own decisions. Besides we don't even know what's going to happen with this."

"I know but…"

"But nothing. We are all getting out of the house this weekend so that she can have Ross over."

"I still don't feel comfortable with this."

"Esme and Carlisle will be home all weekend so there is nothing to worry about. They are working on Spanish, how romantic can that be?"

"Very."

"Well from what I understand he doesn't get any of it so it's not like he is going to serenade her in Spanish."

"Fine."

I looked at him and his arm went back over his eyes. Great, I got to deal with pissy Edward all night. That was going to be loads of fun. I got up and he touched my arm.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely positive. Now relax."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to talk to Carlisle and Esme."

"Will you back soon?"

"Of course."

"I just miss you."

I looked at him and sighed jumping back onto the bed and giving him a kiss on the forehead. "I will be right back, I promise."

I looked at him and saw him smile before I walked out of the room. When I was at the end of the hall, I booked it down the stairs and into the basement. I wanted to tell Renesmee that everything was set but when I saw her sleeping I decided that it could wait until morning. On my way back up to my room I spoke to Esme and she said that she would be fine sitting at home this weekend, maybe doing some yard work. The yard was already starting to become out of control and soon the leaves would be changing.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

Nothing was really special this morning. I didn't have anyone bouncing up and down on my bed having my cloths laid out on the bed for me to wear. It actually made me a little sad to not have any help this morning but I knew that I would be able to do it on my own. I took a shower and left my hair down to dry before getting dressed in a pair of skinny jeans with a white t-shirt and a black vest covering it, matching it with a pair of black boots. Only 2 inch heels today. I looked at myself and realized that this was as good as it was going to get. While I was putting my books into my messenger bag, my mom came down the stairs.

"Have you changed your mind," I asked her.

"No but I did talk to your dad about it last night."

"Great," I said slamming my last book into my bag. "Now Ross is never going to be able to come over here."

"Honey your dad said it was fine."

"Really?" That really wasn't what I had expected him to say. I didn't think that my dad gave in that easily but I guess whatever my mother wanted she got.

"Yes but if Ross hurts you in any way he will have to deal with the entire family."

"I already knew that." A smile was creeping across my face as I just realized what might be able to happen this weekend and I was excited to get to school again. I really must be going insane. When I walked up the stairs everybody was already waiting outside in the cars. Ann took off down the driveway and Jasper sped off after her. A race, I wanted to do that. Racing cars, I thought, would be a lot of fun. Another idea for the family to do and it was something that we would all enjoy doing. Emmett took his time getting to school and when we showed up Ann was dancing around her car and taunting Jasper.

"I didn't want to crack up Edward's car," he yelled at her. Uncle Jasper being furious was something that I had never seen before and I thought that it was absolutely hilarious. Alex grabbed onto Ann and lifted her over his shoulder.

"Put me down," she yelled hitting his back with her fists.

"Are you going to stop," he asked trying to look at her face. "It's not good to be a sore winner. Nobody is ever going to want to challenge you in anything."

"What can I say, I'm competitive and Jasper drives like a grandma."

"No he drives like a human. Now would you stop, you've been gloating for 5 minutes now."

"Fine," she said and Alex slowly put her down on the ground in front of him and grabbed her shoulders. She stuck her tongue out at him and pouted.

"I love you too," he said kissing her forehead. I smiled at them and everybody around me. I did have to admit that I felt a little bit out of place. I had noticed it before but not until now did it hold the meaning that it did now. I was lonely and I didn't want to admit it. Everybody had somebody and I was the odd-man out. They all tried to include me in things but there was part of me that couldn't get over the fact that they were all in pairs and I was the odd one out. It made a little depressed coming to this realization and it made gym class not as enjoyable as it had been the past few days. I just mopped around not wanting to do anything or talk to anybody. The only thing that I was looking forward to was standing at my locker and waiting for Ross to join me.

I waited for him to show up and he came a little bit later than yesterday. But seeing him instantly sent chills through my body and the butterflies were floundering around in my stomach.

"Hey, are you alright," he asked. Apparently he was very observant too.

"Yeah I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"Just some family issues."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Yes. "No, I'll be okay, just one of those days I guess."

"Your hair looks nice today."

"Thanks," I said subconsciously touching the back of my head. "It's all natural today."

"Maybe that's why I like it." I smiled at him and he brushed my arm. I felt a burning sensation on my bare arm where our arms connected. But he apparently didn't freak out at the temperature of my arm.

"Thanks. So do you think that you will need help with your homework this weekend," I asked him. I guess that was the only way to get it out into the open and if I was going to be denied I would rather it would be now. "My family is going camping and my mom and dad are going to be the only ones home so the house will be very quiet."

"Are you sure that you don't want that opportunity to have the peace and quiet to yourself?"

"I get it when I go for walks and stuff. Besides I don't want you failing this class because of me."

"I guess that would be cool."

I smiled at myself.

"Saturday it is then."

"Okay."

We walked in silence to class and snuck peeks at each other all through class. Today I sat with him again and Alice came up a little bit earlier this time so that she could actually talk to him.

"Hi Alice," he said looking away from me for a moment. He remembered her name, which was quite impressive. I wouldn't be able to tell you many people's names here. I just wasn't very good with remembering names.

"How was your lunch," she asked giggling to herself.

"Better than yesterdays."

"Yeah," Ross said. "I should have warned you about how gross the pepperoni was but I figured that I should let you learn for yourself." I put my hands on my hips and made a sad face at him. "You are so cute when you do that." I instantly blushed. Damn my mother, again. "That look will get you anything."

"I wish," I said quietly under my breath so that I could only hear it, although Alice probably did too.

"We should get to class," Alice said touching my shoulder. "I'll talk to you later Ross."

"Bye Alice."

She skipped off to the door and waited for me.

"I guess that I should go," I said getting up from the table. He got up with me and took my tray and I walked with him over to the trash. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"So…"

"I'll meet you at your locker after school so I can walk you to the parking lot again."

"Alright."

"Because I can't hug you here. Your family seems like they are trying to burn a hole through me."

"Like I said they are a little over protective."

He leaned down and whispered into my ear. "Then it's probably a good thing they won't be home this weekend." His breath was hot on my ear and his lips seemed to linger there a little too long. When he pulled away, I put my hand to his shoulder and walked over to where Alice was waiting for me. She put her arm around me and smiled.

"What," I asked her.

"I can't see Ross' future anymore."

"What," I yelled. "Why?"

"Because I think that he finally made a decision."

She smiled at me and we walked to our class.

**A/N: Let me know if you still want me to talk this much about Ross and Nessie.**

**Next chapter will be the weekend.**

**I wish it was the weekend now actually. It would mean no school. **

**Anyways, please continue to review. I have 66 favorite stories and I don't get those reviews.**

**Leave anything. Any constructive critism or happiness or what. Confused, just ask.**

**New chapter some time this week.**

**15 reviews again please. I'm up to 102 right now, amazing. **

**Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this. **


	20. Date

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long, I've been a little busy this week. I picked up two shifts at work because someone I work with broke their foot.**

**However, since paying attention in class doesn't suite me well, I write there and type when I get home.**

**But this chapter is worth it, it's my longest one to date. 10 pages and 6060 words (no chapter has been over 8 pages but this has a lot of dialogue)**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I got the 15 I was looking for and then some.**

**More at the bottom but here is chapter 20!!! Enjoy.**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

The week went by slowly, of course. Every time you have something to look forward to time seems to drag by. I wasn't even in the mood to practice most of the time. The only thing that I could think about was the weekend that was almost here. I fiddled with my pen during music class. My entire family looked at me with anxious eyes, as they all knew what I was thinking about. However, to anybody else would think that I was just drumming to the beat of the music that was playing which worked out to my advantage. I had gotten through the day without much homework, except for a Spanish project that needed to be started.

We needed to research an animal of any kind and make a presentation translating the facts on the animal into Spanish and then we would need to present it to the class. Although the project was going to be less than entertaining, it would give Ross and I something to actually work on. I thought about what else we could do, kind of like a study break. We would have to eat, which would mean that some grocery shopping would need to be done. Maybe Esme and I could go tonight since we hadn't gone since we moved to New York. I was the only one who knew what Ross ate which would give me an excuse to get out of the house for sometime tonight.

As I was going over what to buy and possibly make for him the bell rang and it was time to go home. By now my parents knew not to go to their lockers at the end of the day so that I could see Ross alone. It was nice of them considering that I didn't think that they approved much. When I arrived Ross was already leaning on my mother's locker beside mine.

"Don't you need to go to your locker," I asked him sarcastically as I focused on unlocking my locker and grabbing my Spanish book.

"Nope, I've got everything that I need."

"So are we still hanging out tomorrow?"

"Of course we are," he said with a smile creeping across his face.

"Good," I said closing my locker smiling at him. He gave me a gigantic hug and then took my Spanish book out of my hands. "What are you doing?"

"Don't girls like it when we carry their books." He paused for a moment to look at me before we started walking. "But you aren't like most girls are you?"

That was an understatement. "No I'm not like other girls but you may carry my books." I opened up the front of my bag and handed him a piece of paper. "Directions to my house and my phone number incase you get lost."

"Thanks," he said grazing his hand up against mine. I then wrapped my fingers around his and smiled contently. I don't think I ever smiled as much as when I was with him. "You're really warm."

I panicked for a second. Damn it! "Is that a good or a bad thing?" That was the only thing that I could come up with and I was hoping that he would buy it.

"It's a good thing, I'm always freezing." I looked at him and noticed that he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a black t-shirt with his black fox-racing hat.

"Well wearing shorts and a t-shirt in 50 degree weather will tend to make you a little bit cold."

"But I'm comfortable."

"Then don't complain. I'm always warm because I can actually dress myself appropriately. Plus I have really great circulation."

He nodded his head in understanding and we held hangs until we got to the parking lot where we reluctantly let go.

"You live outside of Utica," he asked.

"Yeah we like to be near the woods and have a lot of space to run around. I'm going to put out a balloon or something at the end of the driveway so you don't drive right past it."

"Not a problem."

"And we have a very long driveway so don't think you are going the wrong way."

"Alright."

"And I'll be waiting for you outside of my house so you don't get confused."

"Nessie, stop, I'll be fine. Stop worrying about everything and I'll be at your house around 11."

"Okay."

He handed me my book back as we walked to the parking lot and he said goodbye to me and waved goodbye to my family. I watched him walk to his car before turning to my family.

"Edward," I asked my father. "Is Ross thinking anything suspicious?"

"Like what, what happened?"

"He noticed how warm I am and I'm worried that he thinks something that I don't want him to be thinking."

"He's fine Nessie. Just trying to figure out what to do about tomorrow."

"He's gonna show up right?" I was panicking. He was fine with it earlier and genuinely looked excited about hanging out tomorrow. Why would he get all my hopes up just to crush them?

"Calm down would you. It's all good thoughts from his end and he will show up, I promise."

"You sure?"

"I promised didn't I?"

"Yes."

"Come on, let's get going so you and Bella can go grocery shopping."

"Why must you read my thoughts?" _JERK!_

He chuckled a little bit before helping me get into the car. I was in the backseat of my dad's BMW in-between him and my mother. Not weird or anything. My dad laughed once in a while at what I was thinking.

_I'm glad that I amuse you. You are so lucky my thoughts aren't always about Ross. Oh Ross, _I said holding my hand to my chest. _He's so dreamy. _I laughed at myself because I had been hearing all week how dreamy my dad is and I know that he had heard them too. Soon enough we were home and I drove the guardian into town with my mother in the passenger seat. It looked like a regular Mercedes sedan unless somebody knew anything about cars and then they would fall in love with it. My mother and I got a bunch of food to stock the house with. She had been shopping with Grandma Esme back in Forks so she knew how much we needed to buy.

I never realized how often we got looked at like we were different. High school was different because they were just teenagers but when 50 year old women are looking at you in astonishment it really made you step back and think about what you really are. We aren't normal, we're vampires and as much as we try to hide that and go against it, it's still who we are.

I would eat certain human foods_._ Pizza was okay with the right toppings to go with it and I liked eggs also because my mom ate them constantly when she was first pregnant with me. I could also deal with steak, very raw steak, and some Italianish foods like lasagna and tortellini. I guessed that I would be able to keep up appearances with Ross after all.

"Ness are you alright," my mother asked me.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about tomorrow is all."

We rounded the corner to the produce department, which was right next to the flower shop. My mother and I were looking at various fruits and vegetables and grabbing different kinds. I really needed to learn how to cook and Ross would need to be my test dummy.

**Bella's Point of View**

I never thought that I would be grocery shopping with my daughter for her boyfriend, if that's what you could call him. But as much as I was calm and collected when we talked about him it petrified me. She was too young to be dating but I wasn't going to deny her anything that she wanted. It was as if I tried to make her happy no matter how much it hurt her father or me.

I looked up from the celery that I was looking at and I saw Ross over at the flower shop, looking around like he was dazed and confused. I smiled towards him, although he couldn't see us and I thought that he was being a really romantic guy.

"Hey Nessie, why don't you go look at some meat and I will be over in a minute."

"Sure why not? But I don't even know what I'm looking for."

"Get a little bit of everything okay sweetie?"

"Alright."

I watched her walk away with her carriage before I went over to the flower shop. I looked around a little bit without him seeing me and I stood behind him.

"She'd really like these," I said holding up a bouquet with yellow and orange flowers with little pieces of baby's breath. He jumped at the sound of my voice before he turned around and smiled at me but it also looked like he was blushing a little bit.

"Will she," he replied. "I've never bought flowers for a girl before."

"She would love them. She likes light colors and the thing when buying flowers for a girl is that the bigger the better. Nessie, however, doesn't like roses at all because they seem a little bit too cheesy and too easy for a guy to just go out and buy a bouquet of red roses."

"Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome. I'm Bella by the way."

"And you're her cousin?"

"Yep." Oh how wrong he was.

"I'm Ross," he stated extending his hand. I shook it quickly. "It's nice to meet people from the family. I'm beginning to think that you all hate me."

"We don't hate you, we just don't want to scare you off. Some of us are shy and we are just very protective of her. She's the baby of the family so we all want to keep her safe."

"I promise that I won't hurt her." He looked back at some of the flowers. "Should I buy her more than one?"

"It's up to you but if I were you I would buy a vase here and then have the florist arrange the flowers for you."

"They do that?"

"Yep just for big guys like yourself that wouldn't have clue what to do with a bouquet of flowers. Remember that appearances are everything. Dress up a little tomorrow."

"What's wrong with the way that I dress?"

"Just wear a pair of nice jeans and maybe a fun t-shirt with a button up shirt open over it. She will love that you attempted to look nice for her without overdoing it." Great now I was giving fashion advice just like Alice.

He smiled at me and grabbed the bouquet in front of him and I handed him the one that I had chosen.

"Great choices, she will love them. Now, what's your favorite dinner?"

"That's easy, steak and potatoes."

"Good now get these and get out of here before Vanessa sees you. She is here you know."

"And you couldn't have to me this before?"

"No because she is shopping for you too. Now get these and get out of here."

"Yes ma'am."

I waved goodbye to him and turned to walk away.

"It was nice meeting you Bella." I turned around to see him laying the flowers on the table and grabbing another bouquet of baby's breath. I gave him the thumbs up. He was ready to do whatever it took to dazzle her.

"It was nice meeting you too."

I smiled at Ross again before walking back to my carriage and then grabbed a bag of potatoes before going to see Nessie.

When we were finished we went back to the house and unloaded all of the groceries before joining our family for practice. Today I was working with Camden and Emmett. Emmett was basically teaching us tactical strength movements and I was doing alright at it. I had been improving all week on my fighting motions but I knew the fight against the Volturi would be much harder than the Cullen's fight against the newborns. Part of the reason that I hated training was the fact that I didn't really have time to spend with my daughter because she was working on her telekinesis powers with John.

Around sunset when it was about time for us to retire for the night, Renesmee came running towards me from the forest.

"Mommy, I want to show you something," she yelled running towards me. Before I could ask what she wanted to show me, she grabbed my wrist and tugged me into the forest. We came to a stop and I saw something hanging from a tree.

"So John had the idea of using a 'vampire dummy' to help me concentrate more. It's build out of metal and I then had the idea of putting a black cloak on it to make it more realistic."

I ran over to the dummy and it seemed to be as strong as vampire skin. I smiled at her and got out of the way.

"Go ahead, Ness. Show me."

"You've got to come over here otherwise you'll get hit."

I went back over to her and she was standing around 25 feet away from the 'vampire dummy.' Within a split second I saw the dummy being shredded into pieces. I stood with my mouth wide open in astonishment. I looked at my daughter and she seemed so proud of herself. She smiled at me and I ran over to her scooping her up into my arms and squeezing her gently.

"I'm so proud of you honey."

"Thanks mom."

"You did so great and you've only been training for a week."

'This has definitely been one eventful week."

"That it has been. Let's go hunting and then you can get some sleep."

"Sounds good to me, I'm exhausted."

"Me too."

We laughed at each other before running deeper and deeper into the green forest ahead of us. The forest here reminded me of Forks in a lot of ways. The deeper that you went the greener that it became and there was no light shining in through the roof above our heads. It was serene and relaxing to be somewhere that reminded me so much of the place that I missed so much.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

After feeling so great about everything that I had accomplished in one day, I was nervous again as I lay in my bed unable to sleep. I guessed that it was around 2 in the morning but I didn't want to roll over to look at the clock, afraid that I would just be laying there looking at the clock as the minutes rolled past me. I should have been zonked out by now but instead I was left with all of my thoughts. I was mentally going through my closet for something to wear and flipping through magazines in my head to figure out how to do my hair.

After about another hour of still laying wide-awake I got out of my bed and decided to take a shower. When I got out I put my hair up into wide curlers and looked through my never-ending closet. I needed something that I would look nice in but not something that was too dressy because I didn't want it to seem like I was trying too hard. I decided on a pair of light blue flare jeans and layered black and pink tank tops with lace around the bottom near my waist. My shoes could wait until later.

I went back into my bathroom and realized that my hair was almost dry. Had I really taken over 2 hours to pick out an outfit? Yep but I wasn't going to complain. It allowed me to waste some time and not really stress out too much. I used my blow dryer and hairspray to stick my hair into place as I undid all of the curlers. I then used my flat iron to straighten out the roots of my hair and then let my big curls flow down my back. I looked at myself in the mirror and I guessed that this was as good as it was going to get. Ross liked my hair the best when it was natural but I needed to waste time doing something and my hair usually took the longest. Around an hour and half with the length that my hair was. I wanted to cut it, not too much, but Alice refused to let me touch it considering that it would never grow back so whatever I did was going to be permanent.

I looked at my clock and it was 8:30. I only had another 2 and a half hours until I got to see Ross. I put on a pair of tan boots that I tucked under my pants. I walked upstairs and my parents were sitting on the couch watching the news.

"I thought you guys were leaving," I screeched at them.

"We will be," my mother replied. "We just have to figure out where to go."

"Go hunting or hiking or something. Just don't be anywhere near here. I want to be comfortable with Ross here, not worrying whether you guys are hanging out in the trees outside the house listening to every word that we are speaking."

"Chill out Ness," Emmett said throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Ross will be very welcome here." He was being sarcastic as usual. I couldn't believe this.

"Mom," I wined.

"Stop you sound like a two year old," Emmett said to me. I put my hands on my hips.

"I'm going out for a drive and when I get back you better not be here."

"Wait one second," my father said getting up off of the couch and ran upstairs. He was back within a minute. "You should probably take these." He handed me two cars. One was my license and the other was a credit card. "Incase you need gas or you get pulled over."

"Thanks." I gave him a hug and he embraced me tighter than he ever had. "What's wrong dad?"

"Nothing. You're just growing up so fast is all."

I smiled at him and gave him a hug before releasing and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled a half smile at me and I said, "I love you daddy."

"I love you too, now calm down and take a relaxing drive."

"Thanks."

I kissed him again on the cheek and the same with my mother before skipping out the door. The hours seemed to pass more quickly while I was driving. Before I knew it it was 10:30 and it was time for me to get back to the house. When I arrived my dad's car and Emmett's jeep were both gone. I smiled inwardly to myself as I pranced up to the house and prepared the living room for Ross getting there. I laid out a blanket on the floor for us to sit on and set out a few things for us to eat before I went downstairs to my room to look at myself. I had bags under my eyes that I couldn't get rid of but my hair was still intact. I took off my boots and settled for a pair of slippers. That would seem homier I thought. I looked at myself in the mirror again before I ran upstairs and sat on the front steps of the house. I heard his car pulling up the driveway. He was still about a mile away and I was wishing that he would just more a little bit faster.

Eventually he made his way into the circle in the front of the houses. He took a deep breath before turning his car off and grabbing something off of the passenger seat. When he got out he was in a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. I had never really noticed how short his hair was until right now. I glanced down quickly to his hands and he was holding his Spanish book in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. I made my way down the steps and met him halfway.

"You're house," he said. "It's amazing."

"Thanks. My mom is an architect."

"Amazing but now I see why you thought I would be confused. It's like you have your own little compound here."

"Yep, the Cullen Compound. Great name for it."

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself. I see you decided to opt for the pants today."

"I figured that I would try to dress normally. I love the fuzzy slippers by the way." Maybe I should have kept on the boots after all. I felt my face lower a little bit at his comment. "I really like them, don't get all sad on me." I looked up him and smiled half-heartedly. "I brought you something," he said motioning the flowers up to the front of me.

"They're beautiful thank you."

I felt the blush creep across my face and I turned back into the house. Carlisle and Esme were sitting in the kitchen where I led Ross to first.

"Mom, dad this is Ross. Ross these are my parents Carlisle and Esme."

"It's nice to meet you," Ross said extending his hand to both Carlisle and Esme.

"Pleasure is all ours," Esme said. "I hope that you make yourself at home. Carlisle and I have some work to get done but I hope you two have fun. Nessie, why don't you take him on a tour of the grounds."

"Umm, sure," I replied. I wasn't expecting their fabulous acting skills and their not so subtle way of letting us be alone. I was really going to have to thank them later. "Come on," I said to Ross taking his book and setting it on the coffee table. "We will start here and make our way around."

"This is going to be a long tour isn't it?"

"Yep." I led him downstairs to my room first, sending a gratified smile towards Carlisle and Esme.

**Carlisle's Point of View**

I watched as the new lovebirds walked down the stairs and looked at my lovely wife. I smiled at her and took her hand leading her upstairs to our bedroom. We sat up at the top of the bed and both picked up the books that we had been reading the night before. I really wanted to be down there keeping an eye on them but Esme made me promise not to interfere too much. I still kept my ears open so I could hear anything that was going on between them.

"Would you stop," Esme asked me poking me in the ribs. "Renesmee isn't going to do anything and you know that. Give the girl some privacy."

"Sorry but I have strict orders from her father."

"Guess what honey, you have the authority to overrule Edward on anything that he asks you to do. Nessie is just trying to understand what is going on in her head even if we already know what the result is going to be."

"Yeah but with Alice we don't know. Ross' future could have disappeared because something happened to him or he might have chosen Nessie. We know that Alice can't see her."

"Exactly what I mean. I believe the good in everything Carlisle and I believe that Ross has chosen Nessie. If he has then all of his future has been blocked along with Nessie's. I don't think that anything is going to happen to him so we shouldn't worry too much."

"But Esme, they are so young."

"And what about Edward and Bella? They were young too and you knew how strongly that Edward felt towards Bella and you were supportive of it for the most part. Why can't you do the same for Renesmee?"

"Because I have known her since the day she was born. It is completely different because we have seen her grow from a newborn to a teenager and it's just hard to let her go which is why I agreed to help Edward out."

"Carlisle just relax. I will make you go to the hospital today and pick up an extra shift is you don't give the girl some privacy."

"Fine."

She smiled at me and it was like I fell in love with her all over again. There was just something about her that made me feel like I was whole and if I were to lose her then I don't know what I would do. The loving wife that I had chosen and she decided to love me back and care for all of the kids like they were her own.

"I'm happy for them," she spoke after a few minutes of silence. "She deserves to be happy. I feel bad for her sometimes."

"Why?"

"Because we are all together, all of us, and not one of us are single except for Aedan and Camden but they are like real brothers and spend every moment together. It's not like she can go cuddle up to somebody when we are all watching movies together or going out to play mini-golf. Carlisle, I want her to be happy and I want her to have somebody like we all have."

"I understand where you are coming from but it is too early right now."

"It hasn't been a long time but I can see the way that they look at each other even if they don't. They love each other but it's going to take them a while to realize that. We have to give them a chance Carlisle and not scare the poor boy off."

"I thought that was why Emmett and Edward left for the day?"

"It is but we also don't need protective grandpa around."

"I will relax but don't expect me not to listen."

"Give it a chance, please," she asked looking at me. I loved her eyes and the compassion that filled them. I smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead and then on the lips.

"I love you Esme Cullen."

"I love you too Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

We kissed again before returning to our books. Nessie made me nervous sometimes because I knew that she would be able to get away with a lot of things that most teenagers wouldn't be able to get away with. All of us would be willing to give her anything that she wanted even if it wasn't the best thing for any of us.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

I continued to show Ross the rest of the property once we were done with the main house and Ann's house. After that I took him to the garages. I opened up the garage door and stepped in. He stood in the middle and looked around the octagon shaped garage with our cars along the edges.

"Whoa," he said quietly, probably not thinking that I could hear him. "These cars are amazing but why are there so many? Most of you can't even drive."

"We know that we aren't supposed to legally but that doesn't mean that we follow the rules."

"Do you drive?"

"Yes I do."

"Which one is yours," he asked me looking around at the separate cars.

"Why don't you guess?"

"Alright." He looked around and pointed to Alice's Porsche. "I know that's not yours because it's too bright for your tastes. You seem like you would like a darker color. And I know that the red convertible isn't yours either because you would rather drive fast without the wind whipping at your face. The light blue Jaguar looks like it would be your mom's car and the red Ferrari I could never picture you in. So it's between the two black Mercedes. And I'm assuming that one is yours and one is your dad's. I could imagine a doctor driving this car."

"So which one is it? The Guardian or the AMG?"

"I would say the Guardian because you are the baby of the family and they want you to be protected."

"How do you know me so well after only knowing me for a week?"

"I guess that it's just a gift that I have. So what's the other building?"

"It's the mechanical garage. We have a few cars in there right now getting fixed."

"Who fixes them?"

"Rosalie and Edward but mostly Rosalie."

"Really? I wouldn't picture her knowing much about cars."

"Well most of our cars are modified to go faster. We are an adrenaline fixed family."

"Do you want to take me out for a ride? Maybe we could grab something to eat for lunch."

"I guess so. Just let me grab my keys."

I ran back into the house, at human speed of course, and grabbed the keys to my car. When I got back he was looking at me strangely.

"What," I asked him. He looked at me and smiled.

"Nothing. You are just perfect."

I smiled again and a light pink tone swept across my cheeks before I got into the driver's seat and he got in the passenger side.

"So where to," he asked.

"I don't know much about this area."

"Well there is this really great grinder place about an hour away."

"Sounds good to me."

He gave me directions as I pulled around the driveway and off onto the streets and onto the highway. I reached about 150 before he told me to slow down. I laughed at him.

"Vanessa you are underage driving and if you get pulled over then we are screwed."

"Well then, it's probably a good thing that this car goes so fast that a cop wouldn't be able to catch me."

"Well that's reassuring."

We continued down the highway and got to the sandwich shop in less than a half an hour. When we got there we split a grinder and I paid for it using my father's credit card. He had paid for my lunch twice in the past week and I wasn't going to let him pay for this also. It was my turn to treat him for once.

When we got back to the house it was time for us to actually start working on our Spanish projects. We did a lot of research on my laptop and the community laptop that was in the corner of the room. Once we got all of the facts that we needed to get we set up the way that our powerpoints were going to go and then later on we would get together to help translate the words into Spanish.

Around 4 o'clock I started to cook dinner. Ross helped me out a little bit because I had no idea how to light the grill that was on the deck in the back of the house. We just hung out and talked while the steak and potatoes were being cooked. I had already prepared a salad the night before so that was all taken care of. When I set the patio table for dinner and brought the salads and drinks out I looked up to see Carlisle and Esme staring down at us from their bedroom. I smiled and waved at them and then they gracefully moved away from the window.

"Why aren't your parents eating with us," Ross asked me while digging into his salad.

"They have reservations at a restaurant later on tonight. Plus I think that they are trying to give us a little bit of privacy."

"So they think we are on a date huh?"

"That's what my entire family thinks."

"And what do you think?"

I was at a loss for words because I didn't know what he thought about the situation. I didn't know if he wanted this to be a date or he was just looking at this as studying and me being nice by cooking him dinner. However all day I had been thinking of this as a date. I wanted this to be a date.

"I thought it was kind of like a date." He looked at his salad and then looked back up at me. "Umm, never mind. I just thought because of the way you were acting this week and then you brought me flowers and stuff and I cooked you dinner that this was a date." He looked at me briefly and smiled at me. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you are so beautiful. Of course I wanted this to be a date but I thought because you paid at lunch that you just wanted to be friends."

"Ross, I paid because I hate to see you paying for everything. Let me pay for stuff, I don't want you to pay for absolutely everything."

"Tell you what, we will rotate. Tomorrow night I'm going to take you on a date and we are going to see a movie, your choice."

"Are you sure?"

"Nessie I would like you to go out on a date with me tomorrow night. Will you please go out on a date with me?"

"Of course. I would love to."

We finished eating our dinner and he complimented me on my cooking, although I had never cooked before today. When we were finished I put a movie in the DVD player in the living room and we sat on the couch together. I put my head down on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around me. Considering my lack of sleep the night before and the warmth of his body I was out like a light in the matter of a few minutes.

I woke up around an hour or two later to Emmett standing in front of us.

"Nessie, wake up. Come on, wake up."

"Go away," I said without opening my eyes. "I'm sleeping."

"Edward's coming home any minute and Ross needs to go home."

I shot up and realized that Ross had fallen asleep too. I woke him up and gave him a hug goodbye before scooting him out the door.

"I will see you tomorrow," I called after him. "Pick me up at 7."

"Okay," he yelled sleepily starting up his car and then driving down the driveway. I looked back at Emmett and gave him a hug.

"Thanks."

"No problem but you are still going to have to explain it to him."

"I know but I will tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

"Go get some sleep my little niece."

He kissed me on the top of my head and I then walked downstairs to the basement and got changed into my fuzzy pajamas and crawled under the covers, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Even in my dreams, the memories from the day kept replaying in my head and kept the nightmares away for at least one night.

**A/N: So what did you think? Let me know, good or bad.**

**Where to go from here???**

**I have a poll up on my profile about Ross.**

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**And most of all thank you for sticking with this story. I'm excited to be writing it.**

**What do you want to happen or what could have been done differently.**

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**Another update hopefully within the next 5-6 days, maybe sooner, who knows.**

**I think I'm babbling because I don't want to go to bed even though I have to. Sorry for this.**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!!!!**


	21. Author's note

Alright, I hate when authors do this, just put up an author's note instead of a chapter but I need a little bit of help before I write the next chapter. I don't know if I should continue at the pace that I am going but I do have a lot of fluff for Renesmee and Ross. The other option is for me to skip ahead a few months to when all the action starts up. Also, I was thinking that I could write a chapter or more between Ross and Nessie and then skip ahead. Let me know, I already have the beginning of each of these three chapters written. I'm sorry about this but I don't want you guys to lose interest. So just review and write the way that you want things to happen.


	22. Popcorn

**A/N: Yet another long chapter, 6,050 words for this one. (Yippee)**

**I'm sorry that this took forever, I really am.**

**It's been almost an entire week but a lot has happened this week, so I'm sorry.**

**Thank you for all your input with my story. We now have 152 reviews, 86 Favs and 53 alerts.**

**Here is Chapter 21, enjoy.**

**Bella's Point of View**

"Seriously Edward," I yelled at him. "Calm down and we'll go home in a few minutes. We can't let Ross see you this angry." Trying to restrain Edward from running to the house is not the easiest thing to do. We allowed Emmett to go home first because he wouldn't get too protective. But just because at points through out the day, we were sitting in the trees outside of the house listening to their conversations, didn't mean that we were overprotective. When they had been eating dinner outside and Ross had asked Nessie on a date (a proper date) it took Emmett, Jasper and myself to restrain him from ripping Ross' head off.

"Bella, honestly, I won't do anything to him."

"Yeah honey," I said patting him on the back. "I'm sure that you won't do a thing."

I hadn't seen Edward this upset or impacient in a while and he was really starting to frighten me. After a few minutes, I stood up from the murky ground that we were sitting on and started walking home. We were moving at about the pace that a human would run, considering I was in no hurry to get home. Although Edward and I were worried about Nessie and I was trying to restrain him it was nice to spend a little bit of time alone with him. We were only a mile or so from our house and as we approached I heard Ross' car turn onto the street that led to our driveway and I knew that he was in the clear as long as he drove really fast. I was hoping that Edward hadn't noticed the sound of his car because he wouldn't be happy to learn that Ross hadn't left until 10 o'clock.

We walked into the house and Emmett was sitting on the couch in the living room with Nessie nowhere to be found. Emmett glanced at us and then back to the tv, pretending that we weren't even there.

"Where is she," Edward hissed under his breath. It's not like Emmett had eaten her or anything so he had no right to be bad at Emmett.

"She's sleeping Eddie," Emmett responded not taking his eyes off of the television. Edward absolutely hated being called Eddie and Emmett was the only one brave enough to call him that. "And you are going to leave her alone. You know that she didn't sleep well last night and I'm not letting you wake her up so that you can yell at her and then interrogate her."

Emmett was being defensive and it was a side of him that I never saw. But at this particular moment I was glad that he was being as defensive as I was. He cared about Nessie more than anybody else, except for Rosalie, and I loved him even more because of that. It was also nice to not be the only one that cared about keeping Edward away from Nessie at this moment. I just wish that Edward wasn't so protective of her because someday it would give her a complex.

"Eddie, why don't you teach Bella the piano? It should relax you or amuse you," he laughed under his breath.

"Since when are you the voice of reason," Edward whispered in a low voice.

"Since I realized that she is growing up. Have you realized how happy that girl is right now? She never stops smiling, not even while she is asleep. She is innocent Edward and she has morals and boundaries. She would never do anything to hurt you. And," he emphasized. "Her dating some guy is not to hurt you or annoy you or some kind of defiance. She is dating Ross to make herself happy. At least understand that."

Edward and I just stood dumbfounded for a minute. Emmett was sticking up for Nessie and I was glad to have another person on my side. Carlisle wanted Nessie to be happy but not to the extent of dating a human. (Glad I know that now!) Esme just wanted Nessie to be happy, no matter what the cost. (Score one for Team Ross). Alice already knew what was going to happen so she was on my side. (Score one more for Team Ross). Jasper was hard to read when it came to Nessie so I would score him as a tie. Rosalie despised the idea, just like my situation years ago. She didn't want Renesmee to get too attached and then have him not feel so keen on her being what she is. We all know Edward's feelings and mine (So now the score is Team Ross: 3, Team Edward: 3). And now we had Emmett join our side. It was now only a matter of time before everybody was on board with Team Ross.

"Come on Edward, teach me some more piano," I begged him. Hopefully my piano skills would put him a better mood. My skills were improving but I hadn't had many lessons yet. I had tried to just let my finger's take over and it hadn't sounded too bad.

I grabbed Edward's hand and made it upstairs to our music room. We had a piano, a drum set, guitars (acoustic and electric) and just about every other instrument that you could think of. Just because we had all those instruments didn't mean that we played them all. Edward was musical; he could play just about anything. I was learning the piano and the guitar, gradually, and Jasper could play the guitar also. I was learning from Jasper how to play the electric guitar and the acoustic from Ann. She was very patient compared to Edward and Jasper. Every time I would get frustrated around Jasper he would become frustrated as well.

Edward and I sat at the piano all night and played quietly. He was trying to teach me how to read music but I was better at just listening to the way that he played it and then playing it back to him almost immediately afterward. He smiled at me when I nailed some of the hardest piano compositions and kissed me on the forehead.

"I love you Bella."

"I love you too Edward."

I kissed him on the lips and all of sudden, I felt the urge to jump on him and have him make love to me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lifted me off of the bench, still with my legs around him and kissing him passionately, and he closed and locked the door. Our lips never lost contact as we made our way across the room and back towards the piano. He set me on top of the piano gently and started rubbing my body in all sorts of ways that I felt like I hadn't felt in a long time. I didn't care that there were people through out my house or that my daughter was asleep downstairs. Everything that was inside of my head escaped as Edward removed my shirt and I unbuttoned his. I pulled him closer to me, using my legs to create no space between us, just so that I could be as close to him as possible. I wrapped my shield around the both of us so that he could get some privacy as well in our personal moment together.

When I made love to Edward it was like no other feeling that I had ever had. I knew that no matter what he would be the love of my life, of my eternity and my forever. I know that I never really believed in true love until I met him but just calling him my husband was never nearly enough to explain how I felt about him.

After a few rounds we were laying on the floor of the music room with our clothes thrown over the piano and a guitar laying in pieces next to us. Just another casualty in our sexcapades. I smiled at Edward as we felt the warmth of the sun shining through the windows in the back of the house. It felt so nice to feel warmth and to have him wrapping his arms around me, no longer getting cold at the feeling of his skin. Once the sun was up beyond the horizon it was time for us to get up off of the floor. No doubt somebody would want to come in here eventually today. If it weren't for that fact then I would have stayed here for the entire day, possibly the next week.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

I woke up in the morning and with a big smile on my face. I remember watching a movie with Ross and then falling asleep on the couch with him. When Uncle Emmett woke us up I freaked out thinking that my dad was home and Ross would be killed because of it. But thanks to Uncle Emmett, Ross is alive and well, I think. I was hoping that he got home okay because that car of his is not the most reliable car in the world. I remember hearing my father yelling at Uncle Emmett and how my uncle defended me. I was smiling towards Emmett and when he started to go on a rant about me, I fell asleep.

But I knew that today was going to be a good day. I would go hunting today and then tonight I had a real date with Ross, that's if I had permission to and if my family didn't scare him off. I would hate to him.

That afternoon I went hunting with Aedan, Camden and Carlisle. It was a change of pace that I loved because mostly I would go hunting with my mom and dad. But Aedan and Camden had been doing well with the vegetarian lifestyle so that is why I went with them. If they were still having issues there was no way that anybody would allow me to go with them. If they even smelled human blood it would be a very bad thing and they didn't want me to see that or need to restrain them.

When it was time for my date, I was so excited. Everybody was sitting around in the living room waiting for him to arrive. When I heard his car I began to get nervous.

"Alright everybody, act human and for god sakes be nice to him."

I stood at the door in anticipation of Ross' arrival. When I walked outside to greet him, he looked so nervous like he had never been on a date before. And great, now I had to introduce him to the family. This kid was going to have a headache before we even went out on our first date. I walked over when he got out of his car and gave him a hug.

"Are you ready to meet the family," I asked him.

The smile that was on his face, though it was a nervous smile, disappeared and his expression was unreadable. "Come on, I promise they don't bite."

I chuckled to myself and heard my family inside also laughing. If only he knew. I walked in the house holding Ross' hand. My dad looked at me with a harsh look but when he realized that Ross was looking at him, he softened his expression. Besides my father though, the rest of the family had warm inviting smiles on their faces. Okay something was going on.

"You already know Alice," I said pointing to her. She had a warm, inviting smile on her face and nodded towards him. He nodded back. "This is Jasper and his twin sister Rosalie. Then the big guy is Emmett and next to him is Edward. And finally my cousin Bella."

I was wishing that I could explain to him who my family members really were. I was good at the lying thing but it was bound to slip up eventually. I would say that my father was too overprotective and Carlisle doesn't seem like that kind of father to anybody. He was our leader more than anything but Esme played the mother role very well. She cared for her children, although they were old enough to take care of themselves, and she did a better job than most mothers did with their biological children. She helped raise me and taught my mother a few things and for that I was very grateful.

Ross introduced himself to the family, making his rounds around the room. My father gripped his hand a little tighter than anybody else did, including Uncle Emmett. Ross came back over to me and he looked like he had loosened up a little bit. We said our goodbyes to the family before turning to leave.

"Nessie, can we talk for a minute," I heard my mother ask. I looked at Ross and he continued to the car while I went back over to my mother.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"You're just growing up so fast," she sobbed quietly wrapping her arms around me.

"Oh mom," I said quietly allowing my arms to circle around her tiny frame. I held on tightly and felt like I was going to cry. And if she were able to cry she would have been. She let go of me and my dad was next. He looked at me for a moment with a look of discipline on his face but then he smiled, also wrapping me in a hug.

"Be safe honey, okay," he whispered. "Don't be home too late."

"No problem daddy, it's a school night anyways." _Plus there really isn't anywhere to escape to, _I added in my thoughts. He chuckled quietly. It then seemed like I was passed around the room because I was engulfed into a bear hug the next thing that I knew.

"Don't be making out in the movie theater," Emmett said loudly. "It's not the lady like thing to do."

"Oh," my father snickered. "Like you and Ross have never done that one before." I laughed as Emmett put me down and got into my father's face yelling at him with profanities that I wouldn't like to repeat. Esme and Carlisle hugged me and kissed my forehead at the same time. Alice and Jasper were sitting on the couch listening to Emmett and my dad argued with each other while Rose and my mom were yelling at them to knock it off. My family was absolutely ridiculous.

"Nessie, honey, go be normal," Esme said.

"That's for the sake of all of us," Carlisle said before stepping away from me and to the fighting teenage boys in the middle of the living room. They were both over 75 years old but they were still acting like adolescent boys. I shook my head and walked out of the door laughing. Ross got out of the car and opened my door before joining me inside.

"What's going on in there," he asked me.

"Well this is my first date and I'm the baby so I'm being treated as such. Then Emmett and Edward got into an argument because Edward made a snide comment about him and Rosalie. I swear they are all like a bunch of 5 year olds."

He laughed a little bit before he spoke. "I like your family," he said honestly still laughing a little bit. "Emmett seems like the big, tough enforcer but Edward is the one that does the enforcing."

"When it comes to my everyday life yes but just to let you know, if you hurt me then Emmett will be the one leading the hunting party. I heard him shallow loudly. "Don't worry but we should get going before we miss the beginning of the movie."

"Sorry I don't drive as fast as you do."

"It's alright not many people do."

As he started up the car I was thankful because if the fight between my dad and Emmett escaladed into a physical fight then it would probably not be the best thing for Ross to see. However, most of their fights usually did result in a competition or in a fight. And usually their fights were about the other's sex life.

That night at the movies was so much fun. The movie theater was basically empty, except for an elderly couple that ended falling asleep a few minutes into the movie, so it was like we had the place to ourselves. It was like Ross and I had known each other for years and we were so comfortable with each other. He never once mentioned the temperature of my skin, which made me relax quite a bit. Also the fact that I didn't have any of my family around made my life so much easier. We held hands for the entire movie but nothing more than that. Around halfway through the movie he tried putting his arm around me but we ended up getting pelted with popcorn. I turned around quickly and saw my Uncle Emmett, my Uncle Jasper and my father sitting 5 rows behind us, each holding their own bags of popcorn. I scowled at them and I think that I hissed quietly also. Ross looked too and laughed at them, turning around and continued watching the movie. After another minute of me giving them the death glare I turned my attention back towards the movie.

It wasn't really that great of a movie to begin with and now everything was ruined. I was so upset by the fact that I couldn't have alone time with Ross without the men in my family looking over me. Why did Jasper come anyways? I thought of all of the guys he would have been the one to stay home and leave me alone. That's why I loved Jasper so much. He didn't hover as much as the other two did. I think that Ross could sense what was wrong because he looked at me. He leaned in a little bit.

"Don't worry about it Nessie, they are just being over protective. It's fine."

"But it's not okay. This isn't right."

"Do you want any popcorn," he asked me. I looked down and barely any of it was eaten. I didn't like popcorn at all and I could always just say that I had a big dinner and that I wasn't hungry.

"No why?"

"A fabulous idea just popped into my head."

Before I knew it there was an on slot of popcorn being thrown at us from the location of the boys. I took a handful of ours and started throwing it at them, turning around to face them. My dad had really bad aim, he never got it anywhere near us. Jasper was doing particularly good and Emmett is well Emmett. He ran down the aisle and dumped the rest of his bag on top of his head. We were all in hysterics by the end and the old couple in the corner of the theatre was still sleeping soundly. There was popcorn everywhere and I kind of felt bad for whoever had to clean up our little mess.

Afterwards there was no point in staying for the rest of the movie so after the guys left, with a punch from me to each of them, Ross and I left.

"So do you want to go anywhere," he asked me. "We don't need to be back at your house for another hour."

"I don't know it's up to you."

"Do you want to get some ice cream," he asked. I hated the fact that I had to eat when I didn't want to. I hated most human food and when you were dating a human, whose mission in life seemed like it was eating, then I just had to get used to it.

"I guess that would be nice."

We ended up going to the town's local ice cream shop. I smiled as he held my lower back in line and waited to place our orders. Once we had our ice cream we just sat down at a picnic table and talked.

"So," he asked me. "Do I still have popcorn in my hair?"

"Umm, no. You seem to be all set. However, for me, it is going to take forever to get this stuff out of my hair. You're so lucky that you have short hair. I have been wanting to cut mine for a long time."

"Please don't," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because I love your hair the way that it is. I think that if you had shorter hair it just wouldn't look right."

I ran my fingers through my hair and stray pieces flew in front of my face. He softly brushed the strands of hair behind my ear, but his hand rested on my face. I saw the look in his eyes and he seemed so innocent and sweet and there was nothing stopping me from kissing him right at the moment. He gently pulled my face towards his, although I was moving in that direction without his help, and he leaned in until we were just centimeters away from each other. We were so close that I could smell the sweet scent of his breath. I wanted to kiss him so bad but I couldn't bring myself to move any closer. I wanted to stay this close to him forever and I didn't want the moment to end.

I didn't really know what to do though. I had never kissed anybody besides the members of my family and in no way was this the same thing. I was frozen in place and I couldn't tell why. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to burst through my chest. Ross leaned into the space that was left between us and our lips connected. A bolt of electricity shot through my body in the limited time that our lips were touching.

We both pulled away at the same time and smiled at each other, and that's all we did while we finished our ice cream. We kept our eyes locked on one another and we were both smiling like big fools. He was just amazing to me. Most teenage boys would have tried more and not many dates would have gone so well with the girl's family sitting behind them in a movie theatre. Also, when Ross had decided to throw the popcorn, I thought it was the most brilliant idea.

This weekend had been the best of my short life by far. When we got to the house Ross kissed my cheek inside of the car before we go out and he walked me up to the door.

"Thank you," I said lamely to him.

"You're welcome, but for what may I ask?"

"Sticking up to my brother, not many people would have done that. They can all be a bunch of lug heads at times."

"It's alright. My brothers are the same way. They would have been there tonight too if they would have known about it."

"Oh great, so our brothers can just form one big team."

"Yep, sent just to annoy us."

We laughed a little bit as we approached the door and then we embraced in a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he asked, a little unsure of himself. It's not like I was just going to skip down in order not to see him.

"Of course. I had a great time tonight."

"As did I." He bent down and whispered in my ear "Sweet dreams Nessie." His breath sent a shiver down my spine and he turned to walk to his car, leaving me with a smile on my face as I watching him drive back down the driveway.

When I walked into the house my family was nowhere to be found. I figured that they would be here asking me a million questions but they weren't. I finally decided to go upstairs to see if they were in their rooms but nothing. I went into the music room and sat down on the bench in front of the piano. It smelled like bleach in here, overwhelmingly so, but it didn't bother me as much as it normally would. I was in a great mood and nothing was going to take that away from me.

I ran my fingers across the keys and let them take over as I let my emotions lead my fingers. A beautiful melody came out and it was nothing I had ever heard before. I committed it to my memory so that I could play it again and maybe even put words to it some day. I didn't know how to fully write down music yet and I didn't want to mess up this melody. The tune carried through the empty house and I then felt a presence behind me. I immediately stopped.

"Don't stop," Ann spoke quietly. "Please." She sat down beside me and looked at me. "That was absolutely beautiful. Did you write it?"

"Yeah, just now actually. It kind of just came to me out of nowhere. I haven't even played the piano in a few months but all of a sudden it was calling to me."

"When did you learn?"

"When I was younger my dad would be playing and I asked him to teach me. I wanted to be just like every other member of my family and have all of their talents. I have a little bit of something from all of them."

"Which is a good thing if I do say so myself. They let me come in and I love them for that. You have a really great family."

"I do," I responded. "But they do have some issues with being a little too overprotective."

"I understand that. I don't remember much from when I was a human but I do remember my older brother. He was one of those guys that put on a front about how much of a pain I was and that he didn't really care about me. But every time I had a boyfriend he would interrogate the hell out of them and if they hurt me, he would hurt them. He was really a great brother. I miss him so much."

"What was his name?"

"Josh but I called him Doshy just to annoy the crap out of him."

"See I wish I could do that but my aunts and uncles have been around for so long that they've heard all of the annoying nicknames that there are. My dad still hates being called Eddie and my mom hates being called Isabella so I guess it could work in that aspect."

"I should try calling your dad Eddie. I wonder how that would go over."

"Not to well I would assume." I paused for a minute. Ann remembered a lot of her human life. I had never really talked to her about it before. "So have you ever checked up on your family," I asked unsure if she wanted me to speak about her human life.

"A few times. Right after I died my parents got a divorce and my entire family separated but the last time that I checked they were still on good terms. They live within a 30-mile radius of each other and get together on every holiday and birthday. On the anniversary of my death and on my birthday they all go to the cemetery with each other. The last time my brother brought his daughter with him. She was so adorable and I was just so happy for him. He named her after me you know."

"That was really sweet of him."

"He's always been a sweet guy and I just wish that I could talk to him. We were like best friends when we were teenagers. We had the same friends, the same life but then I went to college and he didn't. But I think that me being the way that I am now helped him. He started going to college after that, trying to be who I was and have my parents be proud of him. He owns his own contracting business now and he's married and has a beautiful daughter."

"Do you know his wife's name?"

"Megan I believe. But I have never really seen her. I've heard him talk about her to my parents and the wedding band on his finger."

"Is it hard?" Ann looked at me confused by my question. "To be so close to your family and not be able to talk to them?"

"All of the time. I want so badly just to tell them that everything will be alright. I just want them to not be so sad about it. My life is great like this because I found my soul mate and I met your family. I will go back again soon."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"You want to come," she asked with disbelief.

"Yeah, I want to be there for you. I couldn't even imagine not being able to see my family, to talk to them, to hug them or to get angry at them when they interrupt my date."

"Wait what? They interrupted your date."

"Of course, what would you expect from the boys. They would do it to any of us but especially me."

"Did that ruin it all?"

"No actually, it made it more fun. A popcorn fight in a movie theatre just kind of made the situation a little bit lighter. Ross and I had our first kiss tonight to."

"Oh my God, tell me," she said turning towards me sitting with her legs criss-crossed underneath her. "You could have stopped me from talking about my family when you had huge news like this."

"I meant what I said about going with you."

"I know and I think I will take you up on your offer. The next time it is sunny I'm hoping in my car and driving down to Massachusetts."

"Alright."

"Okay so continue with you date."

We sat and talked about the date that I had with Ross. It was so great to have somebody to talk to about it, especially because Ann was so upbeat about everything. I just wished I had more friends like her. I was sad though because of her story. I felt so bad for her and there was nothing that I could do about it. I wanted to have her be able to talk to her family so that she could hug them again and stay with them. I would never be able to leave my family; I would never be that strong. The more I learned about Ann the more I began to realize how strong she really was. And she did so well at covering it all up with being upbeat and happy all of the time but something told me that there were a lot of issues within her.

After talking with her for a little longer, she helped me work on the lyrics of my song. It was coming along but I knew that it was time for me to go to sleep. None of my family was home either and they never left me alone at night. One of them was always there to put me to sleep and I was beginning to get nervous about it. I went to bed and fell asleep around midnight.

**Bella's Point of View**

"I think we can go home now," I said to my family. We had all gone off into the woods to work on our fighting skills. There was nothing to do after the boys had gotten back from ruining my daughter's date. I was completely opposed to it but they snuck off and were out of the driveway before we realized that they were even gone. So Rosalie, Alice and I had decided that we would make them suffer by not letting them see Nessie after her date.

They all nodded their heads and we all started running to the house, which slowly became a competition to see who could win the race. I came in second, only losing to Jasper, with Edward close behind and then Emmett and Rosalie tied and Alice came in last. But part of me thought that she did that purposely because she knew what would happen if Emmett came in last place.

We walked into the house and Ann and Alex were sitting in our living room, each reading a book from Carlisle's study.

"Hey Cullens," Alex said to us as we made our way to the house.

"Where have you been," Ann asked us impatiently. "Nessie was worried."

"Where is she," I asked.

"She is sleeping."

"How late is it?"

"One in the morning."

"Oh god, is she okay?"

"She's fine, she had a great time on her date and she wrote a piece on the piano."

"Can I hear it," Edward asked her.

"The sheet music is on the piano. Just don't let her hear you, she'll be upset."

"Why," he continued.

"Because it is a personal song that she wrote. If she wanted you to hear it she would play it for her."

"Then why are you letting me read it?"

"Because I think that as a musician you will appreciate it. I wrote the sheet music down for her because she is still having some issues with writing music."

Edward dashed up the stairs.

"Ann, are you sure she is okay," I asked her sitting down in the chair beside the couch.

"Yeah. She had a great time on her date and she played piano, which was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"I was going to take a trip in a few days to check in on my family and Nessie asked me if she could go and I was just wondering if that was okay?"

"Yeah it's fine. We'll all go if you want us to."

"No that's okay. Usually I go by myself but I want Nessie to go with me."

"I went last time," Alex chimed in. "You had a really nice family baby."

"Nessie can go if she wants to," I replied. "I think that she really likes having you around."

"That makes me happy. You should go upstairs and listen to her music. It is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you," I said getting up off of the chair. I gave her a kiss on the top of the head and ran up the stairs to see Edward at the piano.

"Well isn't this scene familiar," I said standing in the doorway.

"Not again you two," Esme yelled from down the hall. "It took me all day to clean in there."

"Sorry mom," we answered in unison and then laughed with each other. I sat down on the bench next to him and he ran his fingers over the keys looking at the pieces of paper set up in front of him.

"Go ahead and play it quietly," I told him.

He did as I asked and Renesmee's music floated around the room with a beautiful tone that I hadn't heard in such a long time. My daughter was so amazing and she was just going up so quickly and that scared me.

**A/N:**

**So there is the new chapter, how was it?**

**Leave a review, let me know.**

**I'm thinking another chapter with Ross/Nessie and also Ann going back home**

**So leave a review, the record is 18, let's try to beat that.**


	23. Coffins

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen.**

**On top of it, this has been one hectic week to say the least. Way too much school work and work in general plus my boyfriends birthday.**

**I just started writing it today and didn't get inspired until 10 and I got this out in 2 hours, yey me.**

**Thanks so much for all of the reviews. 21 last chapter and now I have 99 favorites, which really excites me.**

**So here is Chapter 22, long awaited probably. Enjoy!**

**Ann's Point of View**

"Ann you can't go back there again," Carrie yelled at me. "It's not healthy for you to keep doing this. I was fine with you checking up on them at first but it's been 7 years. 7 damn years Ann, you've got to get over it."

"I'll never get over it Carrie, never," I screamed. "And I don't see how you could. They are your family too, what about your mother? Don't you want to see her?"

"I miss my family, especially her. I worry about her every single day but we are dead, that's what they think we are. What if Josh sees you or your mom or dad?"

"They wouldn't even recognize me. I look like I did when I was human but I sound completely different and my eyes aren't blue. Once they see me up close they would know that it's not me. I'm careful when I'm near them you know that. Don't criticize me for checking up on my life. I just want to make sure my brother and my niece are okay. I have always worried about him, even when I could to him. Carrie, I'm going and that's all there is to it."

I stormed up the stairs and gently slammed the door to my room. Alex was lying on our bed with his arms crossed underneath his head.

"Are you okay," he asked calmly.

"No I'm not okay," I stated angrily. "She thinks that she has the right to judge me after everything that we've been through," I continued while sitting on the edge of the bed. "I just want to make sure that everybody is okay," I whispered sadly.

"I know you do baby," he said moving towards me and putting his hand on my shoulder. "And I love you for that. You're caring and compassionate but…" he stated emphasizing the last word.

"But what," I yelled angrily pushing his hand off of me and turning around to face him.

"But I think that maybe Carrie is right." What! "I know you go to check up on them but they are all doing great. Your mom and dad are still friends, your brother is married and has a daughter and he has a great job. They are beginning to heal and I think that it is time you do too."

"What the hell is wrong with everybody," I screamed as loud as I could before jumping out the open window and onto the ground below.

Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with everybody. I thought that I was being a good person, checking up on everybody that I cared about. I wanted to make sure that I didn't hurt anyone, that my family was safe and that nobody was hurt. I sent money to them, if I could, every year on the anniversary of my death. I beat they figured that it was the drunk driver's family, the guy that ran us off the road and I was glad about that.

I ran towards the garage and got into my car, modifications and all. I turned the engine on and heard the passenger door open and someone slip inside.

"I'm coming with you," she stated before turning forward and buckling her seatbelt. I was happy to have at least someone to talk to, instead of just screaming at myself from inside the car. I pulled out of the garage at lightening speed and saw the house disappear with Alex standing outside watching me drive away.

Once I hit the highway I turned to Bella "Do you think that I'm crazy," I asked in a hush whisper, trying to convince myself that I wasn't crazy and I really was just a good person.

"No not at all."

"Then why do they think I am?"

"I highly doubt that they think you are crazy. Ann I have been in your shoes before. I didn't want to leave my family behind either, except they didn't think that I was dead. I still talked to my mother and I saw my father regularly until he passed away. We all have a hard time letting go and after my dad died, that was the push that I needed. I don't want you to have that as a last memory of your family. I'm not trying to tell you how to handle this because it is your decision. If you want to keep checking up on them then go ahead but it's only going to hurt you more in the long run."

I sat in silence pondering over my thoughts. We drove around in silence for a few hours, happy for the silence that we never got living with so many people, before we headed back to the house. Driving had always helped me clear my mind allowing me to scream at the top of my lungs or to cry the tears I had been holding in around people. I was usually alone so that I could just relax and listen to stupid music that I hadn't listened to since I was little. Or just sit in silence, listening to the purr of the engine. That sound was always relaxing to me, always, but sometimes it took a little bit longer for my emotions to relax.

When we approached the house, the sun was starting to rise. I knew instantaneously that we wouldn't be going to school today. I was sticking to my original plan of going to Massachusetts today but I was still undecided as whether or not it would be my last trip. As we pulled up to the front of the house I left my car in the driveway, knowing that I would be leaving soon anyways. Good thing I had decided to put the tinted windows in over the weekend, it would save us a lot of trouble in the long run.

Alex was waiting for me at the door to the house. He looked upset, like I had hurt him. I never wanted to make him feel like I was mad at him because he was my life. I got out of the car and ran up to him, jumping up onto him, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered into his ear. I heard his mouth turn up into a smile and then he grabbed me tightly. I loved the feeling that I got in his arms that it made me wonder why I ever needed anything else in my life. I knew that I had a decision that I was going to need to make. I needed to decided whether or not to see my family ever again and I still had be careful like I was every other time I went to go visit them.

He carried me upstairs to our room and put me down smiling at me.

"I love you Ann, you know that right," he asked actually sounding unsure of himself.

"I know that you do and I love you too. I just needed to get away from here for a little while, clear my head. I'm okay now, I promise."

"Are you sure babe," he asked engulfing me into a bear hug.

"Yeah, I am. I think that I should start packing."

I rushed into my closet and grabbed the closest bag that I could and threw a few outfits in, not knowing exactly what I was going to want to wear. I got changed for the day into a pair of tight light blue jeans and a tank top matched with a simple black sweater. I grabbed my bag and kissed Alex goodbye before heading downstairs to see Renesmee in the house adjacent to ours.

When I got there she was ready to go with a bag of her own, in a pair of loose jeans that hung on her waist and a white sweater with a pair of sneakers. She looked relived that she wasn't in heels for once in the past week.

The drive to Massachusetts was a long one and the only sounds that we heard were from the music coming out through the speakers. I had made this journey so many times before and seeing the familiar sites comforted me. Renesmee kept looking at me, wondering what I was thinking.

"Stop looking at me," I told her.

"Sorry, I'm just curious," she replied looking back to the highway in front of us.

"About what?"

"What's running through your head right now?"

"I'm anxious," I told her. "I'm excited to see my family, to make sure that they are doing alright. I haven't seen them in a while and I think that this is the last time that I'm going to see these familiar roads."

"Have you decided that already or are you just trying to convince yourself of that?"

"Do you understand how mature you are for your age,'" I asked with a laugh.

"I get that a lot," she responded crossing her hands on her lap. "I just want to make sure that you are doing alright. You are always there for me and I want to be with you when you are trying to go through a hard situation and make a tough decision. I know that it has to be hard."

"You have no idea," I whispered with disbelief in my voice.

She dropped the subject after a while and she knew how I was feeling inside. It was hard to describe in words, the idea of never seeing your family again and not being able to check up on them to make sure that everything was all right. That's all I ever wanted to do. If I could I would stay there and watch them live their lives as they normally did. I wanted everything to be back to the way that they were years ago. I wanted to never go to that club or to leave 5 minutes earlier just to by-pass the drunk driver that hit us and wrapped our car around a tree.

**Carrie's Point of View**

"So what was all that commotion about earlier," Aedan asked as we sat in the living room. John and I had just come down the stairs to relax after hearing Ann leave the house. I didn't want to be anywhere near her at this moment just because I was so upset with her.

"Ann thinks that it's okay to continue visiting her family and I told her what I thought and then we proceeded to get into an argument."

"And where is she now," Camden asked me.

"She's on her way to Massachusetts soon and Nessie is going with her. I just wish that she wouldn't continue doing this to herself. It's just going to make it harder for her to let go in the long run."

"I understand that," Camden replied. "I did the same thing that she did for a few years but I eventually let it go. It was the hardest thing that I've ever had to do, leaving my 2 younger brothers and my mom and dad behind. I could just imagine what she is going through."

"But I think this is the last time that she is going. It's been quite a long time and I think that it is time that she leaves her human life behind."

"I agree," John concurred. "I've watched her leave to go so many times and every time that she comes back she is even more depressed then when she left."

"She doesn't seem like the depressed kind," Aedan added.

"Ann is one of those people that jokes around and talks so much that nobody realizes what really goes on inside of her. It is hard to just watch her pretend that she okay when she needs to do a lot to calm herself down when she is upset."

Aedan and Camden pondered over what they had just heard and it was always a lot for somebody to take in if they knew Ann. She didn't seem like the type of person with issues or problems but she was one of those people that talked constantly or tried to make a joke out of everything. We had always been best friends and I knew her better than anybody else did. We were family, more so than some of our actual family was. She was like a sister to me, if not somebody closer than that. I just never realized just how close she had been to me.

"Carrie," I heard Alice yell running towards the house. "Carrie, we need to talk," she yelled and by the time that I got to the door she was already there. "You need to go after Ann," she finally stated laying her eyes on me.

"Why? Why should I follow her?"

"She is going to need you. All I can see is her standing in some yard and yelling for you. I only got a glimpse because Nessie wasn't anywhere near her. You've got to follow her, please." Alice was pleading with me. I didn't know what to think as I was handed a set of keys and she disappeared again. I didn't understand what was going on and I tried calling Ann's cell phone but it was turned off, which was rare. I didn't know what I was doing as I ran upstairs to pack a bag and then I was off like a flash of lightning. I got to the garage and ended up needed to take Alice's Porsche. I would need to yell at her later for making me drive this damn car. I wore gloves and a long sleeve shirt just in case I needed to make an appearance in public.

I drove as fast as I could without scaring the crap out of myself and tried to remember the way to get home. Good thing it wasn't too hard of a task with a gps system but even with one I could still get lost. It's just the way that I was and that's why I never drove. Ann wasn't great with directions either but she had a way of not scaring the living shit out of everybody as she drove.

It wasn't a very long drive to the place that we used to call home, only taking around an hour and half with the way that we drove. Now the only problem that I had was trying to find Ann because there were a few places that she might be. I decided to call Alice.

"Hey Carrie."

"Hi, where is she?"

"I don't know I've only had that one vision."

"Could you describe the scene to me a little bit more, any details that there might be."

"Umm, there are a lot of tall trees, looks like pine trees, and there seems to be a garage or something in the background. It looks to be a gray color."

"Thanks, she's at her brother's house."

I hung up the phone, remembering that she told me about the house he lived in. It was secluded, but not too much, a gray color house with a matching garage and a yard for her little niece to play in. I remember that it was on the outskirts of a little town called Belchertown. I drove in that general direction, wondering exactly how I was going to find the house. I couldn't think of any possible way that I could get exact directions. I finally called Nessie and was surprised to hear it ring. She answered after a few rings.

"Hello," she asked obviously not recognizing the phone number.

"It's Carrie, where is Ann?"

"She's running around. We parked in a parking lot and she was off to find her brother. She said it was just down the street, why?"

"I'm here and I'm looking for her. I think that she needs me."

"Well I'm in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts, near a school. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes."

"Meet me here and then we can go looking for her."

I hung up the phone and sped closer to the town. I tried to remember all of the schools around this little town that was the next one over from where we had grown up. I finally found Ann's car sitting in the parking lot, looking a little out of place. The weather around us had become cloudy and I smiled in relief, taking off my gloves and rolling up my sleeves. I parked next to the car and Renesmee and I got out of the cars at the same time.

"Should we take a car," I asked her. "Did you see what direction she went in?"

"Through the woods."

"I should be able to track her scent."

I breathed in a heavy breath trying to find her scent that I was so familiar with. It hit me fairly quickly and I took off running at human pace at first and then once we were in the woods, Nessie and I both took off at full speed, following the path left by her. Maybe she wanted us to find her, incase something went wrong.

**Ann's Point of View**

When I saw the house ahead of me, through all of the trees that surrounded the property, I stopped. I was always cautious when I was around these parts, seeing my brother's house and his car sitting in the driveway. I realized he had gotten a new car, a black Hyundai Tiburon. I smiled at his choice in cars, a very fast one at that, and I reminisced about the times that we had spent talking to each other about cars that we wanted one day. We had been different in many ways but there had always been something that we could talk about. I watched as he played with his daughter in the yard and I was closer to them than I had ever been before.

She looked to be around 3 years old, playing with a Dora the Explorer ball and kicking it towards her father. He smiled big as she punted it at him and he caught it.

"Good job baby," he yelled running towards her and lifting her up into the air and spinning her around. "You're just like your Aunty, do you know that?"

"You always say that," she said as he hugged her into his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and I could see the twinkle that he had in his eyes that I had never seen before, until this moment. He was happy and he was a great father, a picture I could have never pictured before.

I smiled and moved slightly in the bushes. It was a little too loud and he noticed.

"Is anybody there," he asked putting his daughter down and telling her to run into the house. I just stood in shock, unable to move. All of these years of keeping a low profile and I blew it all. I was too close, I should have known better. "Hello," he asked stepping closer to the trees that were surrounding his house. I should have moved but I couldn't. I wanted him to see me, I wanted to talk to him, I wanted to be able to smile at him and give him a hug.

Soon he was so close to me I could smell his scent. It was harsher than I remembered but I hadn't been close enough to smell it since I was human and my senses weren't this in tune then. He continued to walk closer and soon he saw me standing there. He stared at me for a long time, not sure what to say or if he was dreaming or something. Edward would have been great at this moment.

Finally, I took a step forward and out of the trees into his yard.

"Hi."

"Ann," he managed to come out with. He recognized me instantaneously. I smiled at him, a little scared also.

"It's me."

"But how," he asked with disbelief in his voice. He looked at me intently now and reached his hand out to me. "You're dead," he said touching my shoulder.

"Obviously not," I said sarcastically. That was all I could muster up. Of all the times I could just continue talking and talking without caring what I said I just couldn't come up with words at this moment. I took his hand in mine and looked at his face. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes.

"Still as sarcastic as ever," he said pulling me into a hug and I could feel his tears soaking my shirt. I had rarely seen him cry but this was one of those moments I was glad that I couldn't cry because I would never be able to stop. "You have some explaining to do," he said releasing from me.

"So do you, naming your daughter after me."

"Well I figured I needed you in some shape or form. She is just like you."

"Poor kid," I laughed. He laughed along with me putting his hand on my back and leading me to the house. I heard something in the woods approaching us at a fast pace. I knew that it had to be other vampires. My face became serious and a low hiss escaped my lips. I moved too quickly, letting my instincts take over me and put my arm out in front of my brother. "Go into the house, now," I said sternly. He looked at me cautiously and then turned and ran. "Come out," I hissed loudly. Two figures then came out of the forest and I looked at them intently. "What are you guys doing here," I yelled, half pissed off but also half excited.

"Alice had a vision," Carrie told me. "She said that you were in the yard yelling for me but obviously didn't come true. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay."

"I'm fine now."

"What do you mean," she asked me.

"He caught me," I sheepishly told her.

"It's about time," she told me. "I have been wanting you to talk to him for a while now just so you would shut up about it."

"Well I'm about to go inside, do you want to come with me?"

"I think that you should do it on your own."

"Are you sure? You came all of this way."

"Just call us when you are ready to leave, we are going hunting or something. We will come and pick you up."

"Thanks guys," I said embracing them both in a hug. I really wanted to spend the little bit of time that I had seeing my brother because we needed to be back at school in the morning. Good thing that we weren't too far away. Renesmee and Carrie ran back into the forest. "

"Be careful," Carrie called to me, even though I knew she wouldn't be too far away. I looked towards the house and took a deep breath before walking towards it. Josh was standing outside of his door.

"What the hell was that," he asked.

"What was what?"

"You moved so quickly and who were those people with you. You seemed to know them."

"I do know them and you know one of them too."

"Carrie," he said quietly. "You've got to tell me what's going on. I saw the car and I was at the funeral and you have a grave and so does she. How are you two alive? Why would you just up and leave your life? Why did you decide to come back now? Why me? Do mom and dad know yet? What are you?"

"Stop would you," I told him. "If you keep asking me questions how am I ever going to answer them?"

"Good point."

"Well one, I'm obviously not dead. 2 I know that there was a funeral and all that stuff, that's what we wanted. 3, we are alive because 2 of the most wonderful people we have ever met saved us. 4, I had no choice but to leave my life because of what I am. I have been checking on you for the past years, ever since I died," I said using air quotes. "I have always worried about you but you are doing so well and I just wanted to make sure that everybody was okay. Mom and dad don't know yet and nor will they ever. This is going to be between you and I okay?"

"Why won't you tell them?"

"Because I think that you can handle this but I know that they can't. Mom and dad aren't doing to well I know that. Both of them are sick and I know that even though I've been trying to block that from my mind. I don't want them being angry with me because I've waited so long to show my face. I just want to be able to talk to you, to make sure that everything is going to be alright with you."

"Come on in, I'll show you around."

He opened the door for me and I entered his house. It had a country flare to it with wood paneled walls and light, vibrant colors through out. There were pictures of him and his wife everywhere on their wedding day and pictures of my niece. She really did look like me. She had our trademark medium brown hair but mine and my father's blue eyes and you could already tell that she was going to be a tall girl. Her mother was almost my brother's height, around 6 feet, so she was bound to be tall.

"Do I get to meet her," I asked looking at a picture of her.

"Of course. Hey honey," he yelled loudly, so loud that it hurt my ears. "Can you come down here, there is someone that I want you to meet."

I heard her little footsteps running down the stairs and straight into her dad's arms. She smiled at him and looked towards me shyly. She obviously didn't get that from me.

"Hi Ann, it's nice to meet you," I said shaking her little hand. She pulled away quickly; my hands were probably too cold for her. "Sorry about that sweetie."

"Who are you," she asked me. I looked into her eyes and they reminded me so much of mine that it was hard to deny telling her the truth.

"I'm your aunty."

"But your dead," she said sadly. I saw a tear forming in her eye. I pouted my lips out and Josh handed her to me.

"That's what they say honey," I said holding her in my arms. She was so warm and smelled so sweet. "I'm just not around very often is all. You're a beautiful little girl."

"Thanks," she said flashing me what she had of a smile at me. "I've always wanted to meet you."

"Now you have," I said kissing the top of her head. "Why don't you go play so I can talk to your daddy and I'll say goodbye before I leave."

"Okay."

I put her down and she ran back upstairs to her room while Josh and I sat down at the island in his kitchen.

"Now that the easy questions are out," he said. "I have serious ones to ask. Why do you look so different?"

"Well the car crash left me basically dead."

"So that really happened?"

"Yes. And 2 guys saved Carrie and I and I had never felt worse pain in my life. All of my injuries together didn't equal this pain. I didn't understand what was happening to me until I woke up and saw clearer than I ever had before, seeing a beautiful man standing over me. His name was Alex and he had these bronze eyes that were so beautiful."

"Okay I don't need those details. Let me guess, he saved you, you fell in love, you're married, blah blah blah."

"Pretty much."

"But the way you look?"

"I'm not…I'm not what I used to be, put it that way."

"What do you mean," he asked with confusion all over his face.

"I'm not exactly human anymore."

"Umm, okay sis. I know that I watch a lot of horror movies but this is just a little too weird."

"I know that but what if mythical creatures were real? What category would you put me in?"

"I don't know."

"Come on and think." I saw the concentration on his face then as he looked at me. He touched my hand softly and it reminded him of how cold my hands were earlier.

"Well let's see. Outside you hissed, which I have to admit was a little funny, and you moved so quickly. You are as cold as ice for another and your eyes are different. I just don't think that what I am thinking is real."

"Just say it would you, I promise I won't bite."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Would you just say it out loud? What am I Doshy?"

"A vampire," he whispered with a frightened voice. I looked at him and nodded. He got up cautiously backing up towards the door. Oh Jes, this wasn't going well.

"Like I said, I won't bite, I promise."

"Ann, you're a vampire," he said quietly again.

"But I don't hurt people, honestly. I have never touched a human in that way."

"Then how the hell do you survive?"

"Animals, just like you do. Well, a little differently," I chuckled. "You eat the meat but I go around this."

"This can't be real."

"It is, your daughter saw me, and she can stick up for you. I'm not a ghost, I'm not dead, I'm immortal, that's all there is to it."

"I think I need to sit down."

I was next to him in an instant and brought him out onto the porch in another split second. He was in the chair and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Relax, that's just another advantage of being like this."

"Can you possibly warn me next time? I have whiplash."

"Sorry, I'm not used to interacting with you humans."

"Don't worry about."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before he looked at me again.

"So a vampire huh?"

"Yeah."

"So do you sleep in coffin?"

"Nope, I don't sleep at all."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Bats?"

"Myth."

"Garlic?"

"Doesn't bother me, although it smells disgusting, as does all other food."

"Crosses?"

"Don't hurt me."

"Burning in the sun?"

"Nope, I sparkle."

"You sparkle?"

"Yeah like diamonds are underneath my skin. Don't worry about it, it's not sunny out today so you don't have to be worried that your sister sparkles."

"Oh Jes."

"Yeah I would say so. So what's going on with you? Where's your wife?"

"Umm, she passed away," he stated sadly. "She died giving birth to our daughter."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's been hard, I have to admit that. Trying to run a business and taking care of her is not an easy task."

"I couldn't imagine."

"I don't think that you want to."

"She was a beautiful woman though."

"Yes she was beautiful inside and out. I hate that I had to lose her the way that I did. It just wasn't fair, quite like your death."

"I know but mine wasn't real. I feel so bad that I haven't been here for you more."

"Mom and dad have been helpful though."

"How are they doing?"

"Not well, I suppose. They are both sick, as you know, but they seem to be in high spirits. They have moved back in with each other. I suppose so it's so they don't die alone."

"Will you call me when it gets too bad," I asked barely mustering out the words.

"Of course."

My brother and I talked until it was past dark. I watched as he and my niece ate their dinner and I helped tuck her into bed before saying goodbye to Josh and reminding him not to talk to anybody about this. It wouldn't be a good thing if that happened. I just wanted to make sure that my family was going to be okay but soon I wouldn't have any of my family left. My parents weren't doing well and I would be there to say goodbye to them when it got too bad. I wouldn't be too far away if they ever needed me.

I called Carrie and Renesmee to pick me up and then gave Josh my phone number. Carrie drove Alice's Porsche while Nessie curled up in the back seat to go to sleep. I wanted to cry so badly as we pulled away from Josh's house with him waving at me in front of it. I knew that it wasn't going to be the last time that I would see him but next time it wouldn't be on such happy circumstances.

**A/N: I know it's not like a vampire to tell someone, but technically he guessed what she was**

**A little more about Josh, he loves horror movies and such so it isn't so hard for him to grasp, if you didn't get that.**

**I hope that you liked it but if you didn't, sorry. Leave a review either way.**

**It's now 1230 and I have to get up at 6 for school and I want reviews when I get home.**

**My computer is about dead now, so this is all I'm going to say.**

**At least 20 reviews this chapter but 25 would be fabulous. **

**Thanks and next chapter will be around halloween. (We're in the first week of september now if you're confused)**


	24. Paintball

**A/N: This took for forever, sorry about that. A lot has happened this week, including more hours at work and 3 tests in one day.**

**Plus it is absolutely beautiful outside.**

**Anyways, here is Chapter 23. Enjoy.**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

"Do you have any idea how graceful you are," Ross asked me while we were out hiking Friday afternoon. He had slipped quite a few times during our hike up the mountain, while I on the other hand, hadn't once been off-balanced or slipping. But I loved showing off around him, I felt comfortable with him in the almost 2 months that we had been dating and I wanted him to know exactly who I was but at the same time I didn't want that. I was afraid that when he found out he would freak out and run off, that he wouldn't care for me the way that he does and that I would have to go through life without him. After only dating 2 months it was like I knew that we were going to be together for a very long time and part of me was frightened but part of me was excited to have somebody in my life just like my parents and the rest of my family. And the thought with just one concentrated glace he could be ripped to pieces. That knowledge would be enough to send anybody running.

"I even amaze myself sometimes," I answered smugly after a few seconds. We had been hiking for around an hour and a half and it was one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen, even more so than in New Hampshire. Here it was different in the confines of the forest with the constant array of colors surrounding us. It was a complete change from Forks, especially, with the constant green that was there and covered absolutely everything. In the forest there was a beautiful arrangement of oranges, yellows, red, browns and some trees, even individual leaves, had a mixture of all of those colors. I personally loved the yellow and orange mixes and how they seemed to combine with each other like fading from one color to the other and those particular leaves reminded me to be cheerful and light, even with impending doom lurking.

"Are you really still amazed by the leaves," Ross asked me as I was picking up a leaf off of the forest floor.

"A little bit," I said embarrassed. "It's just that my last home was nothing but green. The tree trunks are supposed to be brown, like all of these," I stated looking around spinning in a circle. "But back home there is moss covering absolutely everything. It's green as far as the eye can see."

"But it also looks nice, I would assume."

"It does but it gets draining if you look at it too much."

"But maybe here you've never seen this before and you find it refreshing now but you may get sick of it."

"I doubt that," I snickered and pulled him down to the ground with me. We had reached a small clearing with the colored leaves scattered over the ground and the green ferns surrounding it like we were completely alone in the world if we were lying down. I looked up at him and smiled. "I doubt that I will get sick of it because seasons change here and it's always refreshing to see the time go by in that matter."

I had previously watched the seasons change while my mom, dad and I were living in New Hampshire but I could never get sick of watching time pass by the changing of the seasons. From the leaves changing color in the fall, to the fluffy feet of snow in the winter, the spring mornings where everything was damp and smelled so great and the summer time where it was bright and sunny and laying out in the sun just felt so great on my skin.

"And yet you still don't seem to understand how bad our winters get here. Sometimes it snows everyday for a week. At that point you get a little fed up."

"But no school would be nice," I responded trying to sound like a regular teenager that liked ditching school. Even though everyday I got to go I was so exciting after being held up in a house for 7 straight years.

"It would be nice except that my dad sees it as 'If you can't go to school, then you aren't going anywhere.' That gets depressing."

"Well lucky for you my parents are less strict about that."

We stayed lying in the leaves, snuggled into one another for the better part of the afternoon. Considering my body heat we stated out a little longer than normal people would have. However, on our walk back down Ross was cold and that made me feel horrible.

"Nessie, can you do me a favor," he asked me.

"Depends," I answered.

"Can you jump up on my back?"

"What? Why?"

"To keep me warm."

"I told you to wear pants today," I said astonished. This man and always wearing shorts when it was freezing cold out. I never once understood that.

"I know but please."

"Are you sure that you can carry me?" It would be easier for me to carry you, I thought to myself. However, seeing how he weighed probably a hundred pounds more than I did, I don't think he would take too well to that idea without some kind of explanation.

"I've done it before."

A flash came through my head as I remembered the last time that he had picked me up. We had been hanging out for the day and were playing basketball with Emmett and Rosalie. To say that day was interesting was to say the least. I really wanted to dunk the ball (having to act human and all I couldn't do it) so Ross put me over his head and onto his shoulders. Emmett did the same with Rosalie and we played like that for the rest of the fame.

I hopped onto his back and wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I loved being close to Ross, even if it wasn't in a sexual way. We hadn't gone too far yet in our relationship. A few kisses here and there and one time making out with each other but nothing too extreme. We had only been dating a short period of time and as Uncle Emmett keeps telling me "You're innocent Ness. You just have to get used to it." And I didn't see how considering how sexually driven my entire family was. Maybe it was a vampire thing and I got the human genes when it came to sex drive.

"Aww warmth," Ross muttered as his body starting heating up underneath mine. I guess this is the way my mom always felt laying next to Jacob. I laughed quietly in Ross' ear as we continued our way down the mountainside. I was having a great day and I didn't want that to be plagued by Jacob thoughts inside of my head.

Ross and I had been hiking many times but today we had chosen an unmarked path and the little clearing that we had found was like a small piece of heaven. I guess I would compare it to my parent's meadow in Forks but it was different at the same time. It was my own little place, a place where I could spend time with Ross just him and I. Every Friday after school, I was given the day off from training so that Ross and I could go hiking. My family also had been spending a lot of time with us. Not so much my mom and dad because I think that they were trying to give us privacy.

Rosalie and Emmett loved spending time with us. Emmett was just so competitive with Ross because if Emmett were human those two would be a match for each other. I would love to see them wrestle if I knew that Emmett wouldn't crush Ross. For now, it would be none contact sports and events. It was the only way to ensure Ross' safety.

**Bella's Point of View**

"I'm meeting Ross at his house," Nessie called to me from her bedroom as she was getting changed for yet another hike. I always wondered where she got the outdoorsy part of her personality.

"Do you want one of us to drive you," I called to her even though I would know her response.

"I'm capable to drive myself," she said cockily. "I even got my license the legal way."

"Yeah just be careful not to show Ross that please. He will definitely think something is up."

"But he knows we all drive underage considering we all have cars and we aren't that old. He just thinks that Carlisle and Esme like it better that way because they don't have to drive us everywhere. Plus he really loves my car."

"I'm sure that he does honey," I said as she emerged from the basement. She was wearing dark brown baggy pants and a pink t-shirt with a sweatshirt draped over her arm. She looked so cute. Only Nessie would need to make a fashion statement while hiking. "You have fun alright? Be home at a decent time."

"I will. I love you mom."

"I love you too," she said quickly kissing my cheek. She ran to the door and called I love you to her father before running to the garage to get her car. I wondered if Ross ever found it strange that she was at his house only minutes after him after having to go home, get changed and grab another car.

I went upstairs and sat on the piano bench next to Edward. We had been spending a lot of time there when we could. It had become a new hobby of mine, at least, and I was beginning to get really good at it. I had already written an untitled composition on the piano but I could never find the right lyrics to go with it. Edward had told me that it didn't need words that it was beautiful just as it was, but I felt deep down that there was something missing from it.

"What's on your mind love," he asked as he put his arms around me. "You look like you are in some deep concentration."

"I guess that I'm just feeling left out is all."

"Why is that?"

"Because Emmett and Rosalie and Alice and Jasper all get to do activities with them but we don't. I know that we are giving her her space but I feel like I never get to see my daughter. I only get to see her in passing," I stated putting my head in-between my hands. "She's got so much of a life and I sit up here all day and night and play the piano or I'm preparing for the fight or I'm doing homework. I just don't get to do anything with her."

"Oh love, she's just a teenager. I'm sure you were like that too."

"No I was doing pretty much what I am right now, you should know that. I wait for something or someone to come to me. I just hate that I don't see Nessie as much anymore."

"Well tomorrow I'm sure that we can go with all of them."

"Oh to play paintball. That ought to be fun."

"It will be. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Nessie, Ross, me, you, his brothers and their girlfriends, it will be so much fun. Come on, they invited us to go."

"I think that she was just trying to be nice."

"I think that she appreciates the space that we are trying to give her so it's not like we are looking over her every second of the day but I know that she misses us. She can keep a lot of stuff from me but not everything. She misses the days when it was just the 3 of us hanging out without any worries at all. Don't think that she is so grown up that she doesn't need her mommy and daddy."

I looked up from my hands and attempted to smile at Edward. It was definitely going to be interesting seeing everything transpire tomorrow, that much I was sure of. Anytime you give Emmett a gun, funny stuff will happen.

"I guess that paintball would be fun."

"That's the spirit. Now come on, we've got some training to get to."

I walked into our room while he followed me. We changed into more casual clothing; jeans, t-shirts and sneakers and my hair got pulled back into a ponytail. When we got to the backyard everybody was already in their separate little groups. Aedan was working on his fire skills, tossing them at various piles of leaves and Esme was there to quickly put the flames out so we wouldn't burn down the entire forest.

"Seriously would you stop doing that," I heard Ann scream from across the yard. She was looking at Camden and he had a huge smile on his face. She ran after him and tackled him and then looked like she had been electrocuted. Apparently she was his target today. He loved taking our powers and using them against us. "Seriously Camden," she said standing up. "That shit hurts."

"Language," Esme yelled throwing water on a pile of fire.

"Sorry," she yelled. "Tell him to stop taking my powers."

"Sorry honey, I'm not his mother. I can't make him do anything."

Ann grunted and went to attack him again. This time she tried to resist the surge of electricity he sent through her but it only lasted a few moments before she was on the ground groaning in pain. Alex was at her side in an instant trying to calm her down.

It had been like this for a while now. Camden would use somebody else's powers for the day and sometimes it frustrated the others. I remember when he stole Alex powers and the entire day nobody got anything done. Every time Alex would get anywhere near him he would freeze time and move a foot to either side of him and then unfreeze everybody. While I had my shield on the entire time and was basically laughing hysterically. But the classic battles were always between Aedan and Camden. Seeing Camden chase Aedan around the yard throwing fire at him was hysterical.

The entire afternoon, Jasper and I were practicing with each other. It seemed like we were evenly matched for the most part, although he still fought a lot better than I did. He was still more agile than I was and it frustrated me but I learned to deal with it, hoping that I wouldn't be a burden during our fight with the Volturi.

However sometimes I felt like we were practicing for nothing. We hadn't heard anything about the Volturi and Alice hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary from them, so it seemed like a battle was never going to take place. However, we knew that wouldn't be the truth. Because somewhere down the road the Volturi would make another mistake and then it would be hell trying to fend them off. There was a reason they were the leaders of all vampires and it would not be easy to defeat them.

Once Renesmee was on her way home, we all began to disperse into the house. When she got home so looked ridiculous. She had leaves all through her hair and her clothes were filthy.

"What happened," I asked curiously.

"We ending up getting into a leaf fight before we got into my car to drive him home."

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course I did."

"Is the offer still on the table for your father and I to join you tomorrow?"

"Of course," she smiled excitedly. I wasn't expecting that one. "I've been wanting to do more with you guys."

"I didn't think that you would want to."

"Well I do. Ross is starting to think that you two hate him. We do things with all my other brothers and sisters but not with you two. I just tell him that you guys aren't really the sports kind of people. That you would rather read or play piano."

"I guess that is the truth but we wouldn't mind doing something with you guys."

"Well we are meeting him and his brothers at the paintball field in the morning."

"You look tired."

"I am but I need to shower. Tell Alice to wake me up in the morning."

"No problem," I told her getting up off of the couch and giving her a hug. "I love you honey."

"I love you too mom."

I kissed her forehead and watched her smile at me as she went into the basement down to her room. Her busy schedule had her sleeping whenever she could and that usually meant going to bed fairly early on Friday nights. Between school, Ross and training it was starting to take a toll on her.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

I woke up the next morning with Alice standing over me. I had gotten used to having to wake up early because of school but I absolutely hated getting up on the weekends. It was the only time that I got to sleep but since we had paintball at 10 I needed to get up and get ready to go. Alice was already dressed and ready to go.

I got up and put my still wet hair into a ponytail and then wrapped it into a messy bun. Alice had gotten all of us matching outfits, of course, customized with our names on the back. Once again she had to be fashionable even when the outfits were going to be destroyed by paint splatter. I put on a skintight spaghetti strapped tank top and a pair of spandex padded shorts. Then Alice handed me a pair of black and dark green paintball pants and I slipped them on with black boots. She handed me my jersey, which looked really tight and matched my pants perfectly. I left my jersey off and she painted my face that looked like war paint, in a camouflage design, playing off the colors from our uniforms.

When I walked upstairs I realized that all of the girls were wearing the same black and green uniform but all of the guys were wearing black and gray. The 7 of us grabbed our paintball gear and we all filed into the vehicle, all squished into Emmett's jeep. We had decided that taking a Mercedes or BMW to a paintball match was probably a bad idea.

The ride wasn't too long and when we arrived at the field, it was a vast field with a lot of bunkers set up through out it. The center divider was a big air ball bunker in the shape of an X and then there were various other bunkers through out the field, set up in various locations. I was amazed of how small the field actually was. But I guess it was just to keep the game going quickly, not having to run extremely far in order to win.

Ross and his brothers Scott and Steve were standing waiting for us when we filed out of the car. Behind Scott and Steve were two girls, wearing the same outfit as I was minus the face paint. I ran up to Ross and gave him a hug.

"You know you guys look like one of those clown cars," he whispered into my ear with a chuckle in his voice. He put me down and looked at me smiling.

"Well you know our other cars really wouldn't fit in here."

"You've got a point there. I would like to introduce you to Courtney and Melanie," he stated pointing behind him to the girls. "Courtney is engaged to Steve and Melanie is dating Scott."

"It's nice to meet you both," I said looking at them with a smile on my face.

"It's nice to meet you too," Courtney said. She had short, cropped light brown hair with bright blue eyes and was around 5 feet 6 inches.

"It's a pleasure," Melanie stated extending her hand towards mine. I grasped it quickly and smiled at her. Her shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes seemed to glisten in the sunlight as if the sun was a spotlight for her.

After hanging out for a little while we split into our teams, guys vs. girls, and assumed our positions on the field. The object of the game was to grab the flag hanging in the middle of the field and return the flag to the other teams' base on the opposite end of the field without getting hit.

We were playing speedball and it is just what it sounds like. It was going to be very fast paced and basically you tried to shoot at the other team without them shooting you. I was chosen as one of the runners in the front line. They all knew that I was fast and I had to be careful of my father. With his mind reading skills it was basically going to make this game impossible. And I was already blocking Alice's visions so she couldn't tell me when to move. It basically sucked having a father with powers.

My mother stood next to me as another runner, both of going for the flag. She looked down at me and smiled.

"I have him blocked out," she whispered to me. A huge smile crept across my face and I knew that having my mom around was a great idea. However, I would have loved to see her when she was human trying to play this game. Even now, it didn't seem like the type of thing that she would want to do but I think it was just so that she could be with me. I felt bad that I didn't spend more time with her but there was no way. I had so much going on that I felt exhausted. The last time that I got to relax was when Ann and I went to Massachusetts. Even that really wasn't relaxing, with all of the drama between her and Carrie. Since then, they had gotten back to normal but not after a few days of Carrie being upset with Ann. However, while we were there, Carrie did end up checking on her family. Her mother was doing great, just retired from working insurance her entire life and her dad was really bugging the crap out of her mom. I guess constantly being together without any job could be enough to tear any relationship apart.

The match started with a bang, literally quite a few of them, as paintballs were being shot through out the field. The boys had chosen blue paintballs and the guys pink. I had to stop for a second and laugh at Emmett who, within seconds of starting, was covered in pink paint. Apparently he didn't understand the concept of hiding from his opponents. After that, however, he learned.

After playing quite a few rounds of speedball, the girls ended up losing by two rounds, which was to be expected. Although Ross' brothers' girlfriends were nice, they weren't really the athletic kind and whenever they got hit, man, you could here it from a mile away. I think my family was happy to leave so that we could get away from their screeching.

When we got home, we all went to our separate parts of the house. Tonight was Halloween and there were a lot of parties that we could choose from. There was also a costume contest at some club in the city that I knew were going to because there was going to be a costume contest.

After getting out of the shower and putting my hair up in rollers, I sat down at my vanity and put my makeup on. I just put on simple makeup, some black eyeliner, pink eye shadow and a little bit of clear lip gloss. When my hair was dry in the curlers, I sprayed hair spray all over the place and took the curlers out. I put my hair into high pigtails on the sides of my head and wrapped pink ribbon around the base. I was going to be a sexy Scottish girl. Ross had already picked out his costume, a wonderful pink, black and blue kilt with a matching hat, a white shirt underneath and a pair of black sneakers to go with it all. So I made my outfit from scratch, finding the same fabric that his kilt was made out of and made a mini-pleated skirt out of it. I also made an off the shoulder shirt with white surrounding my chest and tied a bow in the middle of my chest with criss-crossed plaid fabric laced over the black portion of my shirt. I wore a pair of thigh high white tights and a pair of black peep toe heels.

**Bella's Point of View**

"Seriously Alice," I yelled when she put a Robin Hood hat on top of my head. She had made my hair a little wavy and then put the hat on me.

"Come on Bella, you will look great."

She then handed me a pair of boots that went above my knees. I looked at her like I was going to kill her and I basically was. I went into her closet and saw my costume hanging there. She was having me be a sexy female Robin Hood. I reluctantly started putting the layers of clothing. The skirt was extremely short but I guess that's how you dressed when it was 40 degrees out on Halloween night. The basic color of the dress was dark green velvet and then there was a heart shaped piece of tan fabric around my chest and the same fabric was the hem of the skirt. And on top of it, the hat on my head had a red feather sticking out. I looked absolutely ridiculous.

Edward was a male Robin Hood. He had a tan hat (with the stupid red feather), a white long sleeved puffy shirt with a burnt orange vest over it and a black belt around his waist with tan pants and pair of black boots.

However, when I went downstairs, Carlisle and Esme looked adorable. They were both dressed up as pirates. They both had hats on and were dressed to the nines. They both were adorable. Esme's outfit was a little sexy but not too much, just showing a little bit of cleavage, and Carlisle even had an eye patch on.

Emmett and Rosalie were standing in the middle of the room.

"I'm not going with you if you are dressing like that," she said looking at his costume on the table.

"Come on babe, you can be my burrito."

I looked closely at the costume and it looked like a huge taco. I looked at Edward and he was trying to hold in his laughter.

"Only if you pay a lot of attention to my taco," she said angrily but also suggestively. I made a gagging sound towards them and started laughing. I sat down on the couch with Edward and waited for Alice, Jasper and Renesmee. I had no idea what Renesmee was planning, only that she did it all on her own, in calibration with Ross. Jasper had also gotten Ross a fake ID so that he could get into the club with us.

Emmett and Rosalie had disappeared upstairs to finish getting ready. Only Emmett would think of being a giant taco for Halloween. And I was completely amazed that Rosalie agreed to be dressed as a burrito.

Alice and Jasper came down the stairs and they looked the best of all of us. Jasper was dressed in a pair of black pinstriped pants with a matching vest with a tight white collared t-shirt and a black tie with a matching black hat tilted to the side. Alice looked like a sexy mafia girl with a pinstriped half shirt with half sleeve and a tie wrapped around her neck. Her skirt matched her top and was shorter than any of ours. Her bare legs led down to her black stiletto heels and she had her hat tilted to the side just like Jasper's.

When the doorbell rang Edward got up to answer it. He almost keeled over laughing when he saw Ross standing in the doorway with a kilt on.

"Can I come in man? I'm freezing," Ross stated before making his way past Edward and sitting on the couch. He looked uncomfortable but at the same time confident. Now Renesmee was about to make an entrance. I walked over to Edward and held on around his waist. If this were the costume that Ross had picked out then I was sure Renesmee's wouldn't leave much to the imagination. I watched as she came out of the basement in a very skimpy outfit but at the same time, she still looked innocent. Maybe that was just because she was my baby girl. I had to restrain Edward from running over to her and covering her up with something. Or I was restraining him from going and beating the crap out of Ross. He probably thought that Nessie's costume was all Ross' idea and I wasn't going to let him hurt Ross because of that.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

When we got to the club, everybody looked amazing but to be honest, I knew somebody in my family was going to win the costume contest. Everybody complimented Emmett and Rosalie on their costumes constantly. It had been his idea to be a taco for Halloween and I knew that there was a reason why I loved Emmett. And of course, when he and Rosalie won the costume contest, he threw it in her face for the rest of the night.

"I told you so," he told her when they received their praises.

"Shut up," she always said completely bothered by the point that Emmett was right.

It was fun hanging out with my family and Ross. It seemed like he fit seamlessly into our family, although he wasn't a vampire. Alice had been making hints towards him though. She had said that his future disappeared. It frightened me because I didn't know if something bad was going to happen to him or if it was because he was choosing to be with me for a very long time. I had always wanted for Alice to be able to see me so that I knew that everything was going to be alright but at the same time I was happy that she couldn't. It meant that I could make my own decisions and not rely on her to tell me what was going to happen. Life was going to play out the way that it was supposed to. Nobody interfering and telling me not to do a certain thing because it would break the future that was already set in front of me. I went to sleep that night with Ross on my mind, just like I always did, wishing that he were lying next to me.

**A/N:**

**All the costumes and uniforms from this chapter are up on my profile, if you want to take a look at them. **

**Okay I now have 112 favorites for this story and 194 reviews.**

**I really want to get that number up.**

**The last chapter didn't get much response but I hope this one does.**

**20 reviews pretty please with a cherry on top.**


	25. Hiatus don't hate me, im so sorry

Alright, so this officially the second time that I've done this but I need to let you guys know what is going on. First off, I am going to continue writing this story but it's going to be put on hiatus for less than a month. I have been doing horrible in school and I really need to concentrate on it so that I can graduate when I want to. I don't want you guys to hate me but I spend a lot of my time thinking about this story when I should be studying. I love this story and I'm going to continue writing it and I hope that all of you will stick with me. I just wanted to put this up before you guys think that I'm not writing it anymore. After finals are over, which are in less than a month, my updates will be coming regularly. I'm sorry, I truly am because I love writing but right now, school is my number one priority.

Sorry again,

~Sabrina


	26. Icy

**A/N: I thought that I would be nice and introduce this chapter a week before I was going to put it out.**

**Expect another chapter in about a week and half or two. **

**I need some great feedback to help me get it through my finals. **

**Please give me some reviews.**

Chapter 24

**Ross' Point of View**

I have known the way that I felt about Nessie of a long time now, ever since the moment that I met her but I'm just too afraid to tell her. It scares me because I'm only 17 years old and I shouldn't have these types of feelings towards anybody for at least 5 more years. But now that I've found her I don't want to let her go. I don't want to say 'I love you' to her because I don't want to be like all other teenage couples. Our relationship is different. We just like to spend time with each other, holding each other, go on adventures and kiss.

I never feel uncomfortable when I'm around her except when her brother Edward is there. And you would think that by looking at the family, Emmett would be the intimidating one but it's the exact opposite. Nessie and I never really spend much time with Edward and Bella but Bella is always a sweetheart. She's helped me out quite a few times and she always seems to have Nessie's best interests at heart. Bella in a lot of way has probably been like a mother to Nessie when their parents were killed. Because Bella is the older of the two, I feel like she took some responsibility for taking care of Nessie.

Our first snow day of the year happened and Nessie picked me up in Emmett's jeep to bring me to their house for the day. Both of their parents were at work and it was just the kids, at home all day, alone. How we had gotten to December without a snow day was amazing to me.

"Hey Ross," Emmett boomed as we walked in the door, walking over towards me and patting me a little too hard on the back. "How's it been?"

"Okay just a little bored. My brothers haven't been back lately."

"Not even for Thanksgiving," Alice asked me. All of the siblings were in the living room except for Rosalie, who was MIA.

"Nope. They went to their girlfriends' houses so I was basically left on my own."

"You could have come with us," Bella stated kindly. "But I guess Washington is just as boring as it is here, especially Forks."

"I didn't want to encroach on family time. Your family is big enough without adding one more to the mix."

"Well," Bella continued, "Any time you are by yourself on a holiday, feel free to come here."

"Thanks Bells, I appreciate it."

She looked upset for a moment but then that was cast away before I could even blink my eyes. I have never had somebody I was dating have such a wonderful family and their thoughtfulness always surprised me. Whenever I thought that they couldn't be kinder they did something like invite me to holidays, even though Nessie and I hadn't been dating a long time.

"So what are we doing today," Alice stated. I don't know why she ever asked. She somehow always got her way or somehow knew what we were doing before any of us did. I definitely did not like playing anything against her because she was always able to calculate my movements.

"Movie day," Emmett yelled jumping over the back of the couch and landing in a sitting position facing the large flat screen television on the wall. Nessie laughed at him but grabbed my hand and we sat together on the loveseat while Bella sat on Edward's lap in the chair adjacent to us, while Alice and Jasper fiddled with the electronics. All of us were enjoying the show of them trying to figure out the equipment that none of us realized Rosalie enter the room. All of a sudden, Edward burst out laughing and all us turned to see what he was looking at. Rosalie was covered from head to toe with oil grease. She looked like somebody had just thrown black paint all over her. Emmett was the last to turn around and when he did he was rolling around on the floor laughing at his girlfriend.

"It's not funny," she said walking over to Emmett and smacking him across the face, which ended up leaving a black handprint across his cheek. "You stupid fucking Jeep sprayed shit all over me. I think it's done now."

"YOU KILLED MY CAR," he yelled over exaggerated. "Why would you do that?"

"I didn't do anything Emmett," she stated as a matter of factly with her hand on her hip. "Your damn car sprayed shit all over me and now I can't even get it to start."

Man I wish I had popcorn for this. It was more entertaining then watching movies.

"Come on babe, seriously, why were you messing with my car?"

"Nessie told me that it was acting weird today and I think that it needs to go to the Cullen car cemetery."

How many cars have the Cullens gone through? Edward looked like he snarled towards Rosalie and she looked at him with questioning eyes. Was there something that I didn't know about the Cullens? It seemed like I was missing out on some inside joke.

"Can we not fight in front of company," Edward said calmly.

"You're not my father Eddie," Rosalie snapped. "Plus Ross isn't company. He's here all of the time."

Am I really here that much? I didn't think that I was. Before anybody could say anything else, everybody seemed to be really calm. The arguing stopped and I stopped second guessing myself. It was like a wave of calm instantly came over all of us. Rosalie looked at Jasper with evil eyes and then stomped up the stairs. Emmett stayed on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest like a little 5 year old.

When Alice and Jasper finished and the DVD was put in, Jasper sat on the opposite side of the couch from Emmett and Alice sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. She pressed play on the DVD player and the door busted open almost giving me a heart attack. Ann, Carrie, John and Alex came in and unbundled themselves, even though they didn't look like they had one flake of snow on them.

"Hey ya'll," Ann said jumping in front of the TV and laying down in front of it. Alex, John and Carrie followed her and did the same thing. "So what are we watching?"

"The Fast and the Furious marathon," Alice stated happily.

We all sat down and waited for Rosalie and Emmett to get back. Ann seemed to be so at home here and I was wondering why she was here so often. They all seemed like family, even though they had all been new students at the same time. Maybe they knew each other in Forks and now they all moved here. But I never really had the courage to ask any of them.

It was a long day of doing nothing but watching movies. It had gotten a little repetitive after a while but I still enjoyed myself. The Cullens had always had a fascination with cars and I was wondering if any of them had ever tried street racing. Between Rosalie's modifications and the speed of their cars to begin with, I knew that they would probably win any race that they entered.

At the end of the night Carlisle and Esme came in the room to talk to us.

"Ross," Esme said sweetly. "I think it would be safer if you stayed here tonight." Edward shot her an angry glance but quickly relaxed his face. "The roads are horrible and with Emmett's jeep out of commission, our cars probably aren't going to do that well out there. We have a guest room upstairs that you can use."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"And I have some clothes for you," Alice stated. It was as if she knew this was going to happen but she was so prepared for everything, no matter what the situation. We hung out and talked for a little while longer before we all headed off to bed.

"No sneaking downstairs tonight," Carlisle yelled from the top of the stairs. I chuckled a little bit because I was thinking about it but as my experience served, families always had a sixth sense when it came to their youngest member. I quickly kissed Nessie before heading upstairs to go to bed. Alice was standing outside of the door with clothes in her hand.

"This is your room," she stated showing me inside. There was a king size bed in the middle of the back wall with two nightstands next to it. There was a CD player and flat screen TV on the wall beside it. The wall facing the backyard was mostly glass and there was a connected bathroom. "You can use that bathroom and anything in it if you need a shower. I brought you in some pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow. We will probably have school in the morning but you can just ride with us, alright?"

"Sure no problem. Thanks a lot Alice."

"You're welcome. Just holler if you need anything, Jasper and I are right across the hall."

She smiled and said goodnight to me before disappearing out the door and closing it behind her. I sat on the end of the bed and looked outside. It looked like it had stopped snowing outside and the sky was starting to clear up. I sighed to myself and went into the bathroom to change. In a house this big, I should have guessed that they had a place for me to stay.

I lay down in bed and looked out the window again. The house was dead quite except for soft music coming from down the hall. I lay awake for most of the night just letting my mind go crazy. There was something weird with this family because in all of the times that I had listened to my father snore, there wasn't one noise coming from anybody.

When I finally woke up in the morning, I realized that I still couldn't hear anybody. When I walked down the stairs Nessie was sitting on the couch with her feet up on the couch. I sat down beside her and pulled her legs on top of my lap.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Good morning. What time is it? Where is everybody?"

"Everybody is at school and it's about 10 o'clock."

"Why are we still home?"

"Because you slept so late."

"I didn't really sleep well," I admitted. "But how did the rest of your family know that?"

"Esme tends to check on us through the night," she replied without any hesitation. "She noticed you tossing and turning and never regulating your breathing."

"Esme seems to be a great mother," I stated. I hadn't met a woman in a long time that could compare to my mother but Esme was as close as I was going to get.

"She is. She takes care of all of us like we were on her own. I couldn't wish for a better family."

Nessie always sounded so sincere. Every member of her family cared for each other, no matter what the circumstances were. Every day that I spent with them made me want to stay even more. Their family, as loving as they are, was completely different than my family. It's not that we don't love each other in my family, but there just isn't as much love floating around. I was envious of my girlfriend's family.

**Bella's Point of View**

"Nessie, can you wake up sweetie," I stated shaking her gently sitting next to her on her bed.

"What time is it," she asked groggily.

"Don't worry about it. Ross didn't sleep well last night and he finally got to sleep so we're letting you two stay home today."

"Okay."

"And if he asks Esme checked up on him last night and noticed him tossing and turning."

"Alright mom."

"Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep honey."

"Alright mom. I love you."

"I love you too."

I kissed on the forehead and she immediately went back to sleep. I met the rest of the Cullens upstairs while Esme was excusing Renesmee and Ross from school for the day. I couldn't believe that my daughter had a boy sleep over the house last night. Granite it was because of the weather but it was still a little surreal. And it had Edward at attention all night to make sure that Ross didn't sneak off to see Renesmee in the middle of the night.

"I can't believe we're allowing them to stay home alone," Edward stated to me for the third time since we made the decision. We were in his car driving to school with Alice and Jasper.

"Would you shut up already," Alice said with a little bit of annoyance in her voice. "I'm sick of hearing you being the overprotective father. I had to deal with it when you were dating Bella when she was a human and trying to protect her every second of the day but Renesmee is different Edward. She knows how to take care of herself."

Edward shot her an annoyed glance and crossed his arms over his chest like a little kid that was just yelled at by his mother. The rest of the ride to school was quiet and I was thankful that he listened to Alice. But the second that she was gone, he started up complaining again.

"I can't believe we allowed them to stay home," Edward muttered under his breath for the millionth time today. "How could be so stupid?"

"Calm down Edward. We know Nessie and she won't do anything that we didn't do when we first started dating. You need to trust her."

"I do trust her," he said playing with the food that was in front of him at our lunch table. "It's him that I don't trust Bella."

"He's just curious about us."

"Do you know the last time that someone was this curious about our family?"

"That person ended up joining the family," I said calmly. "But what if that's what Nessie wants? Granite, it's too soon to know but if their relationship is anything like ours then we know how that turns out."

"I just don't like it."

"Edward, it's hard because she is our daughter but we have to allow her to have what she wants. Ross is a nice kid. He gets good grades, he is nice and so is his family, and he loves Nessie. He would never do anything that would jeopardize his relationship with he. Just understand that he loves our family and Nessie. If he's curious then we just need to be a little more careful."

"Mostly he is just wondering about Alice," he stated annoyed. Why the hell would that annoy him?

"What about me," Alice asked dancing over to our table and sitting next to me, already engrossed in our conversation. Jasper came shortly after her and sat down beside her.

"Ross is wondering a lot about you. He's always wondering how you always seem to know everything and he doesn't like playing anything against you because you are impossible to beat because you calculate his moves. You need to be more careful."

"Look who's talking," she snapped back. "Don't think you're all high and mighty. If anything, he is becoming suspicious of you and who you are to Nessie. That look that you gave Esme last night could have killed her. Don't think that he didn't notice it."

"Can you see his future yet?"

"Nope. He still plans on being with Nessie for a long time."

"Stop changing the subject," Emmett interrupted. I hadn't noticed that everyone in our family was involved in this conversation. "Eddie stop looking like a father and stop reading the kid's mind. He's gonna have a heart attack one of these days from your death stare and then we'll need to change him just to save his life."

"Don't even joke about that," Edward whispered.

"It's bound to happen," Alice stated. "He wants to be with her and there is nothing that we can do about it."

"We all need to be more careful," I implied looking around at everybody. "Ross is going to be with us for a while and we can't change that. What we can do is make sure that we keep our secret to ourselves and not expose ourselves to him."

They all looked at me and nodded, except for Edward he looked annoyed. He looked at me like he was going to kill me but I had to speak the truth. I had become the voice of reason when Esme wasn't around but it was mostly to protect my daughter. Having a family this big watching your every move is not a fun experience. I had to deal with it and if I could shelter her from that then I would.

**Ross' Point of View**

Nessie and I had been sitting around all day just talking. It was nice to spend alone time with her at her house without any prying eyes watching us. I did enjoy her family but at times it got to be a little too much.

"So where did you get your nickname from," I asked her. I had always been curious but I never asked her.

"When I was younger my friend Jake," she replied with a little bit of pain in her face that I don't think I was supposed to notice. "He thought that Vanessa was a little too long, or formal, something like that, and he came up with Nessie. My mom had yelled at him because he named me after the loch ness monster, or so she thought."

"And did he?"

"I'm still wondering about that actually. I think it's a good nickname though because I don't like the name Vanessa all that much. It's a little too formal for me too, that's why I prefer to be called Nessie."

"It makes sense," I exasperated. "So do you still talk to Jake?"

"Not as much as I used to. He lives in Washington so it's hard to keep in contact with him."

"Do you miss him?"

"At times but we were never more than friends."

"Did you ever want to be more than friends with him?" Now I knew the last thing that I should be doing was asking her about her past relationships and stuff but I wanted to know that kind of stuff about her so that I could understand her better. I wanted to know everything that there was to her, even if it was talking about some guy. She never even mentioned him.

"We have known each other since I was born and he was always there for me. We were great friends, as close as any two people could be, but I never wanted anything more than to be friends with him. When I moved in with the Cullens, we didn't see each other as much and before we moved here he confessed his love for me but I told him that I couldn't be more than friends with him. He was like another brother to me, like Emmett or Jasper, and that's when he left. I felt horrible about it and I've seen him a few times since then but it's just not the same as it used to be. I haven't seen him or talked to him since August."

"That's awful. Is it by your doing or his?"

"I think that it's a combination of the two. I haven't called him; he hasn't called me so I guess that it was mutual. He may still be upset with me but there isn't anything that I can do about it when he feels the way that he does."

"So if someone tells you that they love you and you don't feel the same, you don't talk anymore?" This I was truly curious about. I didn't want to express my feelings towards her and have her reject them and never be able to talk to her again. I would rather keep my feelings hidden deep inside then lose her in my life forever.

"That is how it would seem."

We sat and talked for the rest of the day until her family got home for school. I stayed for a little while longer, until Esme came home for work.

"Thank you Esme for letting me stay here last night."

"You're welcome," she told me politely.

"And for letting us stay home today. I really did need a great nights sleep."

"I could tell that and you're welcome again. If there is ever a snow storm like the one that we had last night, you are more than welcome to stay because we've all driven in the snow and it's not a fun experience."

"I appreciate it none the less."

"Not a problem. Do you need a ride home?"

"No I think Nessie is giving me a ride."

"Alright then, we will see you this weekend then."

"Yes and thanks for letting me be here all of the time. My house is pretty lonely without my brothers around."

"Stop thanking me and go home already," she said sarcastically. I guess that I really was being extremely thankful today. It must be being in this house so often and it was turning me into a gentleman. Just the way that Jasper acted made everybody around him want to be more mature. I could really use the pointers from him.

When I got home, I went into my room and played some music while I just laid on my bed listening to the lyrics. When my dad came home 2 hours later I knew that he was in a drunken stupor. He slammed the downstairs door and then stubbled up the stairs, falling down quite a few times. This was typical behavior for him this time of the year but it got worse after my mother died. Everyday he would come home completely obliterated and would yell and hit random things. I was used to it by now but it was getting more and more frequent. After my brothers left I think that he got worse because he was feeling alone and abandoned. He had always told me that he resented the fact that I was ever born. He didn't want a third child but I came and he never loved me the way that he loved my brothers.

When I was younger it bothered me a lot. I would spend so much time thinking about it and it would upset me. Through the years though, I've learned to not think about it and just be who I am. My dad would not shape who I was and how I acted. He didn't deserve that and he could not control me.

"Ross," he yelled when he heard my music. I turned it off and waited for him to get to my room. "Whoa," he stated leaning against the door holding himself up. "My son has finally come home," he stuttered. "Thanks for the phone call last night telling me where you were."

"Sorry dad, I fell asleep at Nessie's house."

"Oh that wonderful girlfriend of yours. How nice of her parents to let you stay there."

"The roads were horrible and her brother's jeep died. There was no way to get here in one of their cars."

"And you wonder why I don't let you go out in the snow. If her parents were any kind of parents they wouldn't have let her go out or they would have called."

"Her parents, dad," I emphasized. "Are nice people? Do you realize how much they've helped kids out," I yelled. "The Cullens took in Bella and Nessie when their parents died and they have been nothing but nice to me. They take care of me way more than you do."

"Aww, look at this," he stated sarcastically. "Sticking up for your girlfriend's parents, how cute. You must really like them."

"I do," I defended.

"Well since you love defending them so much why don't you go live with them?" I sat still on my bed not understanding exactly what he meant. "Do you understand me Ross," he screamed. "You are no longer welcome in the Anderson house." He made his exit slamming the door shut behind him. "I want you out of here in 2 hours," he yelled from his bedroom.

I sat motionlessly on my bed trying to comprehend exactly what he meant. Did he really just kick me out? Where was I going to go? How much money did I have in my bank account? Could I go stay with my brothers? Would I still be able to go to school? Was it too cold to sleep in my car? What am I going to do with everything? Why is my dad such an asshole? Why isn't my mother here to tell him that he is crazy? Why did she have to leave when she was such a sweetheart and my father is such a jackass? Will I need to drop out of school to get a full time job?

My head started to hurt after about 5 minutes of never ending questions within my mind. I tried not to be upset with my father but I didn't succeed. I was pissed off, angry, upset, sad, confused and lonely. I never understood how one person could make another person's life so miserable. But somehow he managed to execute it with perfection. At any case I would be out of here as soon as I packed my bags.

After driving around without a purpose for a few hours I was really starting to get annoyed. I tried thinking of where to go so many time but all of my friends, the 3 that I had, had very strict parents. Nobody was allowed to go over after 8 on school nights and that definitely included no having a friend pass out on the couch.

My brothers were too far away and by the time I would get there they would be asleep. I had stupidly slammed my phone against the wall before I left so there was no way to contact anybody. I was still panicking about everything that was going on. I was only 17 years old, was it legal for him to kick me out? But I didn't want to go to the cops because I didn't want to leave here. I was beginning to love living here, mostly because of Nessie.

I had thought over and over again about going to their house and explaining the situation but I couldn't bring myself to do that. I didn't want them to feel sorry for me, to feel pity for me. Also the fact that I had gotten kicked out because I didn't tell my dad where I was and it was because I stayed at their house, I didn't want Esme or Carlisle feeling sorry for me.

Around 8:30 I decided that sleeping in my car was just the best decision for now. I had my blanket and my pillows with me just in case I did need to sleep in my car.

**Bella's Point of View**

"Did they behave today," I asked Edward while we were upstairs to get changed for practice.

"I haven't seen anything from either of them but Nessie may be blocking me."

"She might be but Ross isn't. He doesn't know about you so there would be no way for him to block his thoughts from you. Unless he always reads minds and that would be extremely interesting."

"You're crazy love but that's why I love you."

"I love you too."

"So are you getting annoyed by all of this?"

"By what?"

"Practicing," he stated shortly.

"Kind of," I said reluctantly. "It's just getting a little repetitious. It's winter with almost a foot of snow on the ground in our yard. Do we really need to practice this much when we don't even know if and when we are going to battle. It's starting to be ridiculous."

I didn't even know where that came from. I think that I was trying to tell myself all of this was needed because we would fight the Volturi eventually. But did we really need to practice 4 times a week until whatever time we were actually going to fight. Could we really keep this up for years if it came to it?

It wasn't even going to be a fight really. We have a lot of family and friends with amazing powers. With Camden and I and Aedan with his fire, Ann with her shock value, Alex with his ability to stop time, Edward and Alice being able to calculate the Volturi's every move, the emotional tactics of Jasper and Carrie and John and Nessie's telekinesis powers, we were unstoppable. That doesn't include the rest of our friends or the brutal strength that we had with Emmett and our training.

Training really was beginning to get repetitious. It was the same thing every day and although we rotated partners and exercises, it was annoying. However, it was entertaining watching people get annoyed by Alex and Camden. When Alex would freeze time or Camden would steal their powers, our emotions would get the best of us.

"Love are you alright," Edward asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure, why," I stuttered.

"Because I think that you used your shield without even thinking about it. I just heard every word inside of your head."

"You know how I get when I get angry or upset."

"Yes I do but you've never done that before. Do you think you are over using it?"

"I may be but I don't mind it."

"Maybe you should give it a rest for a little while. Take it easy for a week. Be the mediator or work on your speed or something. Just relax."

"Will you keep an eye on it please," I asked frightened. I was about to start freaking out because I didn't my powers to be diminishing. I was trying to make them stronger not weaker.

"You seem to be fine now."

"Thanks Edward but still keep an eye on it."

"I will and we'll talk to Camden and make sure that he isn't doing it just to screw with us."

"That is probably the case knowing the way that he screws with everybody."

"Who knew that he would end up being the jokester of the group?"

"Not me."

Camden really had opened up to all of us but he still allowed Aedan to talk for them most of the time. He was a very special person but he never saw himself like that. Edward had always said his mind was very confusing. Camden didn't think that he was anything special and that his abilities weren't a great thing. Although he used his powers to mess with everybody, he really didn't want to harm anybody with them. He was trying to muster up the strength to actually fight against the Volturi and possibly hurt them. He was a caring person and didn't want the curse that was forced upon him by Victoria.

But both he and Aedan were doing great with their diets, which was a plus. Neither had cheated once and their eyes had turned as golden as ours. Carlisle had been speaking with them about going to school with us soon and I think that they were both excited to interact with other people.

Aedan and Makeeda, one of Nahuel's sisters, were hanging out more and more. Especially in the middle of the night when there was nobody else around. They both loved to talk about sports and seemed to listen to the same type of music. I had only been noticing it more recently because they didn't want everybody in the family to be gossiping about them.

Edward and I spent some time alone with each other before heading downstairs and into the backyard for practice. We only practiced for 2 hours but after that it was a group decision to take a break for the rest of the night. Carlisle wouldn't be happy but he was working a double at the hospital so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Ann and I decided to go into town to go shopping because she needed new shoes and I needed more workout clothes. If I got them myself, I knew they wouldn't cost a fortune being the latest trend and I could get them dirty if I wanted to.

Ann drove into the city with her car. I still didn't want to drive and was always up for it. Shopping was always dreadful but Ann tried to make it funnier by trying on the most ridiculous outfits and accessories. It was also something to entertain ourselves when we couldn't do anything else. While we were there, I bought Nessie a new necklace because I found one that I knew she would love. Christmas was right around the corner and I decided to jump on the bandwagon.

I also bought her a few more things including a pair of boots and some jeans and a few headbands because she was starting to wear them more and more. I started thinking about what to get everybody else but they were going to be hard to buy for. After being around for such a long period of time and having all the money in the world, it was hard to buy any of the Cullens a gift.

After getting what we needed, Ann and I drove home. As we were driving, we realized how icy the roads had gotten. Although the snow was gone there was at least an inch of ice on the road and no way of reducing the slipping. Even as coordinated as Ann and I were and our lightning fast reflexes it was hard to stay in control.

We had seen a few accidents on the way home. Most were cars stuck in a snow bank from going too fast and then getting stuck in them. About a mile away from home I noticed a car flipped over onto the roof.

"Wait," I yelled. "Pull over," I yelled more panicked. "I know that car."

Ann looked frightened as she pulled over about 20 feet in front of the overturned car. I jumped out before the car even stopped. "Stay in the car," I demanded.

I didn't know what to expect as I approached the car. The driver was knocked out and there was blood everywhere. I started to panic but not because of the blood but my suspicions were right. Ross was stuck inside upside down. I looked around and nobody was there, so I ripped the driver's side door off and laid it next to me. I looked at him more carefully and noticed his arm and leg were likely broken. Through the blood it was hard to tell if it was even him.

I took my belt off and wrapped it around the top of his arm, were there seemed to be the most amount of bleeding probably from the shattered glass. I then grabbed a blanket out of the backseat and wrapped it around him to keep him from freezing to death.

"What's going on," Ann asked panicked standing next to the driver's side door of her car.

"Just stay were you are," I responded calmly as I could. "There is a lot of blood and I'm trying to keep it under control."

"Who is it?"

"Ross," I whispered both answering Ann and trying to wake him up. "Come on Ross. Wake up," I said rubbing the back of his head. There was blood there too and a lot of it. "Ann can you get this car turned over and try getting it home?"

"I can try. I may need Emmett's help."

"Don't tell Nessie please. I don't want her to get panicked."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking your car to the hospital. Carlisle's there and he's the best doctor there is. Practice makes perfect and he has had plenty of practice."

"Don't get blood on my seats," she stated sarcastically.

I cracked a smile before I picked Ross up into my arms and cradled him supporting his head and neck. His heart was still beating but it was beginning to slow. I put him in the backseat of Ann's car and pulled a fast U-Turn before turning down the road not knowing if Ross was going to live or die.

**A/N: Please do not hate me.**

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	27. Tears

**A/N: Sorry for taking too long. I'm not going to make excuses but it was hard for me to write this chapter because I was in a good mood and I didn't want to ruin it. **

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews for the last chapter, they were awesome, with a grand total of 39 for that one chapter. I'm glad so many people love this story. **

**Here we go, chapter 25. Enjoy!**

Chapter 25

**Renesmee's Point of View**

Christmas was coming soon and I had no idea what to get Ross. The only guy I had ever bought a gift for was Jake but I was so young that it didn't really matter if the gift was good or not and it didn't hold the same weight as it does now. But I wanted to give Ross the perfect gift. I had been racking my brain going through a list in my head of suitable gifts but none of them were good enough. A car would be good for him because I hated his but we hadn't been dating long enough for that extravagant of a gift.

It was around 9 and he had yet to call me. Usually he called at 8 so that we could talk a little bit before we needed to finish our homework and then went to bed. This was very strange so I called his cell phone and it went right to voicemail. Now I was getting worried because his phone was never off. The only choice I had was to call his house and deal with his father. His dad picked up after 2 rings.

"Hello," he slurred. Great, I wouldn't be able to get anything out of his drunken father.

"Hi Mr. Anderson, it's Nessie. I was wondering if Ross was home?"

"He doesn't live here anymore."

"What do you mean he doesn't live there anymore," I asked trying to understand what was going on.

"He doesn't live here. What about that can't you comprehend," he yelled. "I kicked him out this afternoon."

"Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Don't ever call this house again," he screamed and then I heard a click and a dial tone.

I was seething. How could somebody kick their kid out of the house? Why didn't he come here and talk to me? Why hadn't he called? My mind fluttered around with so many ideas of where he was, why he didn't just come here, if he was okay. I knew that he was a strong person but a situation like this could bring anybody down. He had lost his mother and now was without a father.

I jumped off of my bed, grabbing my car keys at the same time off my nightstand and I flew up the stairs. I almost ran out the door but Esme was standing in the way.

"Where are you going at this hour sweetie," she asked with enforcement but also with kindness.

"Ross' father kicked him out and I need to kind him. He didn't even call me and I'm worried about him Esme. He doesn't have anywhere to go so he'll probably freeze to death in his car. I need to go."

"At least have someone go with you."

"Will you?"

"Get Carrie to go with you. I have some things that I need to take care of."

"Fine."

Carrie was waiting outside of the front door for me. Apparently she had heard Esme and was just looking for an excuse to get out of the house. It was strange that Carrie was the first name that came out of Esme's mouth. Normally it would be my mom or my dad, Alice or Jasper at the very least. Carrie slid into the passenger seat of the Guardian and I drove off down the driveway. I drove slower than usual do to the ice and drove by every place that I thought he might be. He wasn't at his friends' houses or in the school parking lot. I even drove down every road in Utica and his car was nowhere to be found, which meant I was no closer to finding him.

"Maybe we missed him somewhere," Carrie said. "We should go home and I'm sure that he'll be at school tomorrow."

"I'm not giving up," I said stubbornly. I was determined. "I have a feeling something horrible is going on here and I won't be able to sleep until I know that he is okay."

"Just be careful. We don't want to end up in the hospital."

"The hospital," I yelled. "We haven't looked there." I pulled a tight u-turn and headed off to see Carlisle. It was the first hospital that I could think of.

"Even if we do look and he's there, what are going to do? We won't be able to see him because we aren't family."

"We are as close to family as he is going to get."

"So what exactly happened," Carrie asked. "Why did his dad kick him out?"

"I have no idea but he is such an alcoholic drunk I'm surprised he's still alive. He yelled at me when I called their house."

"And that's when you figured it out?"

"Yeah. I keep trying to call Ross but it keeps going straight to voicemail."

"Maybe he left it at home or it died. Nessie, sometimes stuff happens and Ross just didn't think about it."

"I just don't understand why he didn't call," I whimpered trying to keep my car on the road. "I'm his girlfriend and he felt like he couldn't come to me." The tears were now streaming down my cheeks. "What if something happened to him Carrie? I feel horrible."

"Nessie he was probably embarrassed and he probably didn't want to involve you because his dad may change his mind. You never know with guys. They don't want to have to ask for help."

"But I'm his girlfriend. He loves me and I just don't understand any of this."

"When did he say that," Carrie asked surprised.

"He never did but I can tell."

"Do you love him too?"

"Do you think I would be up at 1 in the morning driving around if I didn't? He means so much to me and I don't want something to be wrong with him."

"The hospital is on the left," she said pointing it out. I pulled up next to Carlisle's car and walked through the doors to the emergency room. I saw something that I didn't expect there.

"Mom, dad," I whispered not loud enough for any normal human to hear. I walked over to my parents and they wrapped me up in a hug. "What are you doing here," I asked with tears streaming down my face in a steady pattern this time. I didn't even need to ask as I looked around and noticed almost my entire family sitting in the waiting room.

My mother continued to hold me and I looked down at her body. She had blood smears all over her clothes. "Renesmee, honey, Ross was in a car accident."

"No," I whimpered barely above a whisper and if it weren't for her holding me up I would have collapsed on the floor. "What happened?"

"I was driving back from the mall," she said pulling me over to a chair and holding me on her lap, cradling me like she did when I was little. "And I saw a car flipped over on the side of the road. I knew it was him and I knew that Carlisle was here so I brought him here and Carlisle is in with him right now."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He was still unconscious the last that we knew."

"What else is wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?"

"Nessie he is going to be fine. He's a little banged up but Carlisle says that he is going to be just fine. We just have to wait and see."

"Can I go and see him?"

"You're going to have to wait for Carlisle to come out."

I wrapped my arms around her and somehow I managed to fall asleep because when I woke up there was a little bit of sunlight coming through the window. It wasn't bright enough or clear enough for any of us to worry though. I opened my eyes and I was in my dad's arms. He was looking at me curiously.

"What," I asked quietly.

"You really love him don't you," my dad said quietly.

"Yes I do," I stated. It was becoming easier and easier for me to tell the truth now. I thought that I had lost him and I don't know what I would do if I did lose him. Ross was just the perfect guy for me and there was no way around it.

"I'm happy for you," he whispered close to my face, his cool breath swooping around my face. He then placed his icy lips on my forehead and kissed it.

"Really," I asked looking up into his golden eyes. He genuinely looked happy.

"I understand how much both of you mean to each other. I'm a little overprotective because I don't want you to get hurt but I realize how happy he makes you. You two are meant to be together."

"You thought that about Jake too at one point."

"That's before I realized how you felt. I think I always knew in the back of my mind that it wasn't meant to be between you two. I just want you to be happy and Ross is what makes you happy."

"Can I go and see him now?"

"Yes. Come on."

I got up off of him and stood up, stretching. I never slept like that before and I knew that I was going to be a little sore from the ordeal. My dad took my hand and led me down the hall.

"How was mom able to handle it," I whispered to him.

"She is very strong you know."

"I know but it must have been hard."

"It was for her but she has an extreme tolerance for those things. We all did well."

"What do you mean?"

"We were in an emergency room all night and didn't have any close calls."

"Even Jasper?"

"Even Jasper."

"I'm proud of him," I said thinking of my uncle. He always had trouble with our lifestyle but now it was as if it didn't bother him anymore.

"Alright, do you want me to come in with you," my dad asked as we stopped at the door.

"I think I can handle it."

"He will be awake in a few minutes. You should go in and talk to him."

"Alright."

He kissed my forehead again and I opened to the door to Ross' room. I stood motionless in the doorway for a moment, assessing the damage. My dad put his hand on my lower back and I felt like I was unable to move. Tears welled up in my eyes as I walked into the room further and stood next to the bed.

I didn't like the sight of the man that I loved lying on a hospital bed attached to all kinds of tubes and monitors. He heart rate seemed to be normal but it still was bothering me that he hadn't woken up yet. Was this normal?

"He is alright," my dad whispered in my ear. "I know it's hard but it happens sometimes when you are dating a human. Your mother did the same thing to me and believe me it makes you realize how much you truly love someone."

"_I'm okay daddy,"_ I thought to him. _"Thank you though and I know that I can do this. Go home and relax. I can handle this."_

"You sure sweetie," he whispered again putting his hand on my shoulder. I nodded my head and lowered myself towards the bed. My dad disappeared out of sight and I focused on Ross. I wanted him to get better. I needed him to get better. I kissed his forehead, avoiding all of the cuts and bruises on it. I smiled as I heard his heart react to my touch. It sped up a little bit but soon slowed back down to normal.

I pulled a chair up and grabbed his right hand, the one that wasn't broken. On top of scrapes all over his body and the stitches in his head, his left arm was in a cast and his left leg was elevated in a cast. I wanted to cry because there was nothing that I could do for him. I couldn't go back and help him and I couldn't make all of this go away. I put my head down on his arm and tried to think that he was going to be okay even though he didn't look that way.

"Hey," I heard a groggy voice say. I lifted my head up and looked at Ross who was trying to smile at me.

"You're okay," I screamed jumping up onto the bed and hugging him. He kissed the top of my head and I started to cry.

"You're hurting me," he stated. I jumped off of him and stood next to him hovering over his face.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know." I leaned down and kissed him with a lot of force, more than I had ever used before. "Don't cry Nessie," he said kissing my cheek. "I'm going to be okay."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm alive and you're here."

"That was so corny," I chuckled leaning down and kissing him again. "I'm just happy that you're awake."

"You didn't sleep well."

"No I didn't. I was worried and I drove all over the city last night trying to find you. You didn't call me."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure."

I smile crept across my face and I kissed him again.

"I should get into car accidents more often."

"No you shouldn't. You shouldn't have been driving last night with the roads the way that they were. I can't believe you didn't just come to my house."

"I was on my way but I got distracted and I guess you know what happened next."

"Yes I do," I said even though I had no idea. I hadn't gotten that much information from my family but what was I going to say about that. That my mom carried him and brought him here to see my vampire grandfather doctor.

There was a knock on the door and Carlisle stood in the doorway with a chart in his arms. He walked over to Ross and smiled.

"You're awake," he stated.

"Yes I am. Thank you Dr. Cullen."

"You're welcome Ross but call me Carlisle. There is no need to be formal here."

"Thank you Carlisle."

"You're welcome. We should go over a few things."

"Alright."

"Well you were in a car accident last night. When you got here you were in pretty bad condition. We needed to do emergency surgery because you had a broken rib that was threatening to puncture you lung. You had a severe concussion and you broke your arm and leg. Your leg isn't too bad, it should heal within a few weeks. The cast only needs to be on for 2 weeks but it is still going to be hard to walk on so you will need crutches for a little while. But your surgery went well and your bones are beginning to heal. But we need to talk about your post op."

"Okay."

"Well you are going to need a lot of help to get around and somebody is going to have to be there all of the time. Normally I would suggest that you stay in the hospital a few more days and then have your family members take care of you. But these aren't normal circumstances. I think that you should move into our house so that there are more people to take care of you. Plus I think that Nessie would appreciate having you there."

Carlisle smiled at me and I smiled back. He was giving Ross a place to stay because he knew that Ross had been kicked out. He just did it a subtle way to make Ross feel more comfortable. I loved my grandfather with all of my heart. He was nothing but kind to everybody around him. He would take in every teenager if he could. Also, by having Ross stay with us, it meant I got to spend more time with him and there wouldn't be any practicing for a little while.

"Thank you Carlisle," Ross said and it looked like there were tears forming in his eyes but they quickly disappeared. "You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"Anything for you Ross. You are a part of this family now."

Carlisle was smiling at him and I felt like I was just going to leap for joy. Now I had my dad's blessing and my boyfriend living with me.

Later that day after my uncles had carried Ross up the stairs into the guestroom, I began getting to work making him comfortable. Esme and Alice had been home all day trying to make the room his own. They had brought all of the stuff that was in his car into the bedroom and personalized it. There were pictures all over the place of him and his mother and of his brothers but his father was absent from all of them. It always did seem like his dad was on the outside looking in and once he had enough of his family leaving him he decided that getting rid of Ross was the best solution. In a few days his dad would realize how bad it is without Ross around and would want him to come home but when that time would come, we would offer for him to stay here just so that he wouldn't have to deal with his dad.

I ran around his room as Ross watched me. After I elevated his leg and made sure he was comfortable, I grabbed his pills from downstairs and a glass of water with some crackers so that his stomach wouldn't be upset when he took the powerful painkillers. I felt like I was being a good nurse and I was glad that I was able to take care of him.

"Would you stop for a minute," Ross asked me as he lightly grabbed my arm.

"I'm just trying to make you comfortable."

"I am comfortable enough but do you know what would make me more comfortable?"

"What?"

"If you laid with me for 5 minutes. I could really use the company in this bed, which is unbelievably comfortable by the way."

"That's all Esme. She loves big comfy beds."

"Just come here." He gently pulled me down on the bed and I snuggled up into his good side. "See isn't this nice."

"Extremely," I sighed with content.

"Your family knew didn't they," he asked quietly playing with my hair.

"Knew what?"

"Come on Nessie. They knew that my father kicked me out."

"Yes," I responded quietly knowing that he didn't want anybody to hear us, even though they could.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Well I had called your house looking for you and your dad said you didn't live there anymore. Then when we found your car all of your stuff was in there and we all just put the pieces together without even talking to each other."

"I'm sorry about everything."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"If I would have just swallowed my pride and come here in the first place we wouldn't be in this position right now."

"Well think of it this way," I stated looking up at him. "Because you were in my car accident, it was easier for my parents to let you stay here. They would have before anyways but now we have a perfect excuse."

"I just feel bad mooching off of you guys."

"Don't worry about it all. Carlisle has pull at the hospital already because he's an excellent doctor and offers to work doubles all of the time so your hospital bills are taken care of and we have more than enough room and resources at you disposal. Do you want a new car? I can buy you one, a Christmas present possibly."

"Don't you dare buy me a car," he said with a loud whisper with authority.

"Why not? I want you to have a nice car like mine."

"You don't like my car," he asked confused.

"No I _liked_ your car but it's out of commission. There is no way that is coming back to life and I want you to be able to get around."

"Then I'll get a job and save up the money."

"Yes but if you get a job, which you can't do in your current condition, then I won't be able to see you as much and that is a loss for the both of us. Please just let me get you a car."

"No because you'll end up buying me a BMW or a Mercedes or something like that."

"What about an Audi? They are a little bit cheaper."

"How about a Ford or a Chevy," he suggested.

"Gross. No. You won't be driving those."

"Come on Nessie, they are reasonable American made cars and cheaper to fix."

"There is no such thing as going to a mechanic in this house. Come on, you know Rosalie is the best mechanic there is. She would be hurt if you went somewhere else."

"Well you're not buying me a car so there is nothing more to discuss."

"Your just like my mother," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The last time that someone put up this much of a fight about getting a new car was when my mom and my dad were dating. He hated her car and wanted her in something safer, my car to be exact, but he wasn't allowed to buy her a new car until they at least got engaged and her car died. Well in essence his car died and what would he do if I did buy him a car. Not drive it? You can't just take back a car. Ross dropped the conversation at that moment. He didn't want to discuss it any further but I would still be thinking about it.

Christmas was now only a week away and it was time for the Cullens to put up their Christmas decorations. Ever since I was born we had been doing Christmas every year. Apparently they all wanted me to be normal in some kind of way. But even with Christmas, it wasn't the normal Christmas. We overdid absolutely everything. Ross helped us decorate the tree and Esme even got him a stocking. He thought that it was completely unnecessary but she couldn't resist. He was staying here and he would be there Christmas morning so she didn't want him being left out. Everybody had already bought his gifts anyways so it really didn't matter.

**Ross' Point of View**

To say that this family was subtle is an understatement. Everything from their cars to their clothes to their Christmas decorations were completely overdone. However, helping them put up Christmas decorations was fun. We were all laughing and having a good time and it was the first time since my mother died that I was actually enjoying myself around the holiday. With my father it was miserable and I think that if he would have just sucked it up and pretended to be happy that we could have all moved on. Moving away didn't help anything.

"Ross come over here," Nessie yelled from the Christmas tree. She looked gorgeous in a red silk halter-top and black dress pants. I hobbled over to her, still on crutches from my car accident, and kissed her forehead. "I need your help. Can you reach that branch?"

She handed me an ornament and pointed to a branch high above her head. I smiled at her and put it up there.

"It's perfect," she said as I brought my arm back down and put it around her shoulder. She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed my cheek.

"Of course it is, I put it on," I said with a laugh. She chucked beside me and playfully hit me in the rib. She helped me walk back over to the couch to sit down.

"Wait you two," Alice squealed. "Mistletoe," she said pointing up to the ceiling. We looked at each other and laughed before kissing underneath the mistletoe. Stupid traditions I didn't care for but when it was your girlfriend that you were kissing it didn't matter.

I was expecting a little peck from Nessie but she depended her kiss. I immediately forgot everybody else in the room and was just focusing on her. I didn't even bother listening to anybody until I heard everybody screaming.

"Jacob, don't," Edward, yelled. Nessie and I broke away and I saw a guy bigger than I was, about 6'5" standing in the doorway, shaking uncontrollably. It looked like he was literally going to explode. Before I could blink, the entire Cullen family was surrounding Nessie and I. They were all crouching in front of me like I was a little child that needed to be protected. And then I saw the most frightening that I've ever seen in my life. The man that was standing in front of me was no longer a man but instead he was a wolf. A towering, creepy, scary wolf and all I could hear was hissing and growling from the people that were trying to protect me.

I looked over at Nessie and she was doing the same thing that her family was but she was inching towards the overgrown wolf. I wanted to jump in front of her, to protect her from the beast that was in front of me. But everybody seemed to be willing to let her go towards him.

"Jake," she said quietly inching forward slowly. "Please try to calm down. It's going to be okay, you just need to calm down."

All it did was growl loudly at her, pulling his muzzle back to expose his bear teeth. Edward jumped in front of her and grabbed her back. Bella then took a stab at it. She inched forward, too, and Edward didn't look too happy about it either. He was holding on to Nessie protectively, like a father would his daughter, not like a brother would his sister and I didn't understand anything that was going on.

I didn't hear anything that Bella was saying because I literally felt like I had blacked out. I immediately felt after that a wave of calm come over me and I immediately relaxed even though the situation was so frightening. I couldn't grasp anything that was going on and before I knew it, Bella was pushing the big wolf out the door and Edward was following after her.

As soon as all of them were out of the room the rest of the Cullens turned to face me and I couldn't figure out what they were reading all over my face. It was either panicked, frightened, freaked out or confused or a mixture of all 4. It was a mixture of all 4 because I couldn't process what was going on and what had just happened. Nessie looked really upset and it seemed like she was shaking next to me, trying to hold the tears in.

"Nessie what the hell is going on," I demanded. Everybody looked at me like they wanted to kill me because they probably knew what was going to happen next. I was going to figure out what was going on and they didn't want me to know, obviously, because they never told me in the first place. If they wanted me to know what was happening they would have told me instead of keeping me in the dark the entire time. "I know what I saw Nessie and Jacob, I'm assuming, turned into a wolf. That's not normal."

She chuckled a little bit and then went back to shaking and trying not to cry. "Nessie can you please explain all of this to me because at this moment in time I'm really freaked out."

"Do you want to sit down," she asked quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear her. "You might want to. You seem a little wobbly."

"Will you tell me everything? Not just why Jacob's a wolf but why you were all crouching in front of me, protecting me. I thought that I heard you guys hiss."

She grabbed my hand and when she pulled me over I noticed that everybody else had left the room. Once we sat down, she crossed her legs over each other, turning to face me. She then looked at me straight in the eyes.

"There is a lot we haven't told you," she explained composed. She looked like she really didn't want to tell me but I couldn't just leave it at that because I really needed to know what was going on. "I just need you to sit still and not react okay?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to show you something."

She looked at me again and I rolled my eyes sighing, looking at her straight on, and not moving an inch. She looked at me and smiled, kissing me lightly on the lips, like it was goodbye.

"Like I said don't panic," she stated again in a more firm voice.

"I won't."

She looked at me and took a deep breath. Then she put her hand up to my face. She grazed my cheek with the outside of her hand, rubbing it lightly, before turning her hand around and putting it on my cheek. Images and videos were then running through my head.

I saw her as a baby, I would assume but I saw Jacob there and Edward and Bella and they were all crowding around her. Bella had these brilliant, bright red eyes and everybody was standing around her holding her back it looked like. Rosalie was holding the baby and I realized that they all looked exactly the same as they do now. It then flashed to a field and she was looking across it to a big group of people and there were a bunch of wolves around her. The other people, the ones across from her, were all in black robes that went all the way down to the ground. She was face to face with a guy that would give me nightmares for weeks.

His eyes were red too, but unlike Bella's they were milkier. It was straight out of a horror movie. I watched as she hunted animals with her bare teeth and I watched Bella and Edward do the same thing.

I saw her life flash in front of my eyes. Different pictures and memories coming into play and seeing her grow up. It seemed like no time at all in her eyes and she was always with Bella and Edward. Different memories all added up to a few things. One, she was not human. Two, Bella and Edward were not her brother and sister. And three, I didn't know what to do or how to react. I tried thinking of a reasonable explanation but I was coming up with nothing.

Everything that I thought of seemed too weird to guess but I knew that I couldn't rule out the possibilities. Mythical creatures, werewolves, vampires, witches and the fact that I could see, literally see memories from within Nessie's mind were freaking me out.

Before I knew it, Nessie pulled her hand down from my face and waited for my reaction. I was too stunned and confused to say anything. She was waiting and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Ross," she stated quietly. "Please don't freak out. I love you, please don't."

"What are you," I stated viciously.

"What do you think I am?"

"You drink blood Nessie. You hunt animals and drink blood. Bella and Edward are your fucking parents. Is Vanessa even your real name? Has anything you ever told me the truth?"

"My real name is Renesmee. Renee is my grandmother's name on my mom's side and Esme, well you've met her, is my grandmother on my father's side. My middle name is Carlie, for my grandfathers Carlisle and Charlie."

"So let me get this straight, they don't age."

"Neither do I."

"But I just saw you grow up in front of my eyes."

"I have aged but I am done now. Don't you see what I am?"

"You're a vampire," I said slowly, quietly, trying to get the words out of my mouth and I instantly regretted it. Nothing like this actually exists. Nothing like this could be so close to me. Why did I need to fall in love with a vampire? From her reaction I knew that everything she showed me was true.

"I'm half vampire," she admitted.

"What else are you?"

"I'm also half human."

"Really? How?"

"My dad was a vampire and my mother was a human. When I was born, if my dad didn't make my mother a vampire, she was going to die. It's a really long story."

"I can't handle this Nessie, I just can't. I feel like I don't even know you. I thought that I loved you, that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you but I just can't do it."

I saw her tears fall faster now, they were pouring down her face and I couldn't stand to see her like that but I also couldn't process everything that I just went though, everything that I just learned. Everything was going great because I was kept in the dark. She didn't want to tell me because she didn't want it to affect our relationship.

"I'm done, I need to get out of here," I yelled. "I can't see you anymore Nessie, I can't."

She didn't say anything as I got up off the couch and limped out of the room, leaving my one crutch on the edge of the couch. As soon as I was outside I could hear her hysterics and it was tearing me up inside. My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest as I heard her yell my name, begging me to come back. I just couldn't do it.

I saw Edward in front of the house leaning on a silver Audi coupe. I hadn't seen it before and he looked at me cautiously. I was then standing face to face with a vampire.

"Hold out your hand," he demanded calmly. I did what he asked and he put a set of keys in my hand before closing my fingers around it. "This is all yours. We tried to fix your car but we couldn't. It's a present from all of us because I know that you will come back."

"Don't hold your breath," I spat at him.

"That's my daughter Ross and you are lucky that I am not ripping you to shreds right now. What I suggest you do is go away now before I do that. You got it," he yelled.

I looked at him and nodded before getting into the car and driving down the driveway. As I hit the road I swore that I heard Nessie yelling my name and a wolf howling in the distance.

**A/N: Let's keep the reviews coming, whether you hate me or you love me.**

**I appreciate all of you reading this and it isn't close to over yet.**

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	28. Washington

**A/N: This isn't the best chapter I've ever written but it needed to get out of the way.**

**It also isn't as long as the others but it's still long compared to most.**

**So without further ado here is chapter 26. Enjoy.**

**Bella's Point of View**

I knew the instant that Jacob walked in the door, more like busted through the door that it wasn't going to end well. All that we had worked for, keeping Ross in the dark, had vanished. As Nessie walked towards a trembling Jake wolf, I wanted to pull her back. She wasn't what he needed at that moment. Although most of his anger was directed towards Ross, he was still upset by Nessie. She had chosen Ross over him and he didn't know how to feel anything but anger.

Once he growled at Nessie and Edward grabbed her, I approached him slowly. I didn't have an ounce of fear in me as I walked over to him. I reached out and touched his shoulder, running my fingers through the thick fur, and it seemed to relax him a little bit. I continued to run my fingers through his fur and managed to back him out the door slowly, inch by inch.

When we got outside it took every bit of self-control I had inside of me not to beat the crap out of him. "Jake are you calm?" He hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. "Can you change? Are you able to?" He nodded twice but didn't morph. "What's wrong Jake? I've seen you naked before and it doesn't bother me. I want more than a nod and a shake here and there. I need you to me, just me."

He turned and darted for the forest. A few minutes went by before he walked out in human form, his face long and upset, in a pair of gray sweatpants that were actually big enough to reach his feet.

"Happy now," he stated sarcastically with his arms raised in the air.

"Did you have a bag in the woods," I asked confused. When he phased his clothes had been torn to shreds in the process.

"Yeah. I ran here with it on my back."

"You ran here from La Push?"

"Yep," he said popping the last letter and rocking back and forth the balls of his feet. He was extremely graceful for such a big lug.

"Why?"

"Because I knew that you guys were out here but I wasn't sure exactly where you lived and I knew that I would be able to catch your scents somewhere and I followed them to your house."

"Why? Why did you come here? You should have known that this probably wasn't going to work out in your favor. When we left Forks we weren't on the best of terms."

"I just wanted to see Nessie for Christmas. I thought she might like the gesture."

"And what about Leah, your WIFE!" I emphasized the last word, almost yelled it.

"She wasn't happy and she is probably still mad at me. I just didn't expect to come here and see Nessie making out with some random guy."

"His name is Ross and they go to school to Jake. They have been dating for a few months and they love each other. You should have known that this was going to happen eventually."

"Yeah eventually," he yelled at me. "She's only 7 years old Bella. I just don't understand it. How could you let this happen?"

"I let it happen because this is what she wants. I fell in love with a vampire and it's the path that I chose. I wanted her to have the option to love who she wants to love, no matter what species he is."

"But he can't protect her. Not the way that I could. Or the way that Edward protected you."

"No but she can protect herself. She doesn't need anybody to protect her."

"Yeah I guess so. She is a strong little girl."

"And you are so lucky that I don't beat the shit out of you. Because of you she is gonna have to explain everything to Ross and not everybody is as welcoming to the mythological world as I was."

"Then he can't handle the truth and that's his own problem."

"Isn't your whole life dedicated to making Renesmee happy?"

"That's what the legends say but they also say that Nessie and I are supposed to be soul mates."

"I guess Leah imprinting on you vetoed yours to Nessie. Maybe because Leah is a female her emotions are stronger. Do you have any idea how upset Leah must feel right now? The whole thing with Emily and Sam and now this. No wonder she kept it a secret from you for so long. Jake, she has seen you mourn over Renesmee and me. She has put up with a lot from you and you need to apologize and appreciate her more."

"But…" he tried.

"But nothing. You and Leah are married now, you said 'I do' and you can't go back on that. Now that you've made one girl miserable, try not to upset the others."

Jake looked at me like he was going to cry but he was holding it in. I had known him long enough to know that much. I felt like crap because nothing in this situation was going to turn out well. I needed to make Jake feel like crap and Nessie would be heartbroken because Ross is the one that she loves and he loved her. But now everything was messed up and everybody was miserable.

"Jake," I whispered putting my hand on his shoulder. "I think that you should go home to your wife. And until Ness decides to call you I think it would be better if you stayed out of our lives. I think that it's the best for everybody." He looked at me and there were tears coming out his eyes. He nodded sadly before kissing me on the cheek and walking towards the forest. "I love you Jake. You know I always will."

"I just wish that love was enough," he said hanging his head and running, morphing in mid step. I sat down on a rock and listened to my surroundings. Nessie had finished telling Ross everything and Edward sounded like he was approaching me.

"Hey," he said sitting down beside me.

"Hey," I said flatly.

"Is he gone?"

"Yep," I stated choking up a little bit.

"It's going to be alright Bella. Ross will come back."

"Yeah but when? Will he tell anybody what he saw? Will Nessie ever forgive Jake? I want her to be happy more than anything but being away from Jake for this long is killing me. I hate to bring it up to you because I don't want you feeling like I regret anything that I have done to bring me to this point. Jacob is my best friend and I want him in my life."

"Then why did you send him off?"

"Because I wanted to protect Nessie." He looked at me strangely. "I also wanted to protect him from Renesmee," I admitted. "If she got her hands on him or looked at him the wrong way it could have been the end of Jacob."

"Would that be such a bad thing love?"

"Do you have any idea how much that would hurt Nessie? If she ever did anything to Jacob, even on accident, it would destroy her."

"True," he said wrapping his arm around me. "Ross won't tell anybody. He is confused right now and he's trying to wrap his head around everything. He knows that we kept this a secret for a reason and he knows to keep the secret too. He's a really great guy and I hope that he comes to his senses soon."

"But he is coming back?"

"Alice has been flickering again. He keeps changing his mind. She can see him and then she can't. And if she can't see him that means that he is with Nessie. All we can do is hope that it won't be too long because Nessie is going to be miserable."

"I understand how she feels," I stated sadly remembering when the love of my life left me. I was broken and I felt like I couldn't function.

"I was hoping that memory would have disappeared when you became a vampire."

"What can I say? I still remember almost everything from my human life, even the bad things. If it weren't for the bad things that happened to us we wouldn't be where we are now. Because we went though that it made us stronger."

"You really believe that?"

"Yes. Everything happens for a reason and us being apart helped us. Everything that happened with Victoria and the Volturi keep us together. The struggles that two people go through always makes them stronger."

"Well I would love to keep talking but Ross is about to leave and I need to give him his car."

He kissed my forehead and went to the front of the house. I followed him but stayed behind a little bit to watch the exchange. I just wanted to make sure that Edward wasn't going to hurt him. Every time somebody even threatened to hurt Renesmee he went into protective father mode. Ross came out of the house and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hold out your hand," Edward demanded as calmly as he possibly could. I knew that he was trying very hard not to do something rash. He put a set of keys in Ross' hand and closed Ross' fingers around the keys. Ross shivered a little bit from the touch and he looked frightened, even though he was trying to stay composed. "This is all yours," he said. "We tried to fix your car but we couldn't." Of course Edward only said that because we all planned on buying him a new car and his old car went straight to the junkyard after we got his stuff out of it. "It's a present from all of us because I know that you will come back."

"Don't hold you breath," Ross snapped at him. Little did he know we didn't actually need to breathe.

"That's my daughter Ross and you are lucky that I'm not ripping you to shreds right now. What I suggest you do is go away now before I do that. You got it," Edward screamed. I hadn't heard him yell or scream in a long time and I hated seeing his face when he yelled. He really looked like a vampire when he did that, cold and scary. He didn't like to yell unless the situation called for it but this happened to be one of the times where it was needed.

As I watched him go down the driveway I walked over to Edward and put my hand on his shoulder. As soon as I did that I saw Renesmee fly out the door and down the driveway. I had never seen her run so fast and she soon disappeared into the forest heading for the street. I looked at Edward and we took off after her.

When we found her she was near the end of the driveway, next to the road, curled up in a ball, crying and yelling Ross' name. I felt my heart break for her. She was devastated. Edward and I sat down next to her and I rubbed her back and Edward massaged her head. She continued to cry and whimper, occasionally saying Ross' name in a whisper. I saw flashes of when Edward left me while I was trying to take car of Nessie. She was torn into pieces because Ross had left her.

Edward and I didn't say anything to her the entire time and we just let her get out everything that she needed to get out. I felt like I wanted to say something that Alice saw Ross coming back but I knew that being quiet right now was the best thing for her. She probably didn't even want us there but there was no way that I wasn't going to be with her. She knew that too which is why she didn't say anything.

After a few hours of crying, she finally fell asleep. I lifted her gently off of the ground and carried her to the house. Edward and I tucked her into bed and stayed with her the entire night. Although she was in a deep sleep the memories of the day repeated in her head continuously all night.

**Ross' Point of View**

Where was I going to go? What just happened to me? Was all of this true? I didn't know what to think as I drove down the street. This car was amazing I had to admit. I can't believe that the entire family bought me a car. It was hard for my dad to even buy me a simple thing like a card and this family that I hadn't known more than 6 months had bought me a car.

I was at a stop sign and trying to figure out which way to go. Would I go right or go left? Where could I go now? School was out for winter break so I had a few weeks to figure out everything. I guess that I could stay with my brothers until school started again. I put my left turn signal on to head towards Syracuse. Then there was somebody in my passenger seat.

"We need to talk," the big man said who sat in my passenger seat. I nearly had a heart attack because it was Jacob. He looked like he could barely fit inside of this tiny little car. "Let's go get something to eat. It's on me."

"You eat real food," I asked frightened. "Or am I the meal?"

"I'm the wolf here, not the vampire. Now let's go pick up something okay? You and I have some things that we need to talk about."

Once we were at the restaurant, just an old school place I liked to go with burgers and fries, it seemed like we were alone. There were only a few other humans around us. Wow, humans. I was hanging out with people who were human. I still needed time to figure all of this out. What would happen if Nessie and I were together long enough? Would I need to be changed into a vampire? Would we last that long or would those scary vampires in the black robes kill me? Is that why they have been more than secretive lately?

"You need to stop asking yourself questions," Jacob stated blankly.

"I said that out loud?"

"No but it is written all over your face."

"So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"What just happened? Do you want to know more about me?"

"A little bit. I guess the curiosity is going to kill me eventually and this is probably going to be the only time that you and I can talk."

"I'm a shape-shifter, officially. But most think of me as a werewolf. Now I didn't choose this life, it comes to me through my heritage. I've been this way for about 8 years now and the reason that I became like this is because of people like the Cullens. My mortal enemies are vampires and we are created to kill each other."

"Then how do you have the relationship that you have with them?"

"Bella and I had become really great friends when Edward left her a long time ago. I was there to pick up the pieces and put her back together. I loved her so much and I wanted to be with her. But she had this pull towards him that couldn't be changed. After everything that happened with us when he left, she and I remained friends and we had an agreement not to hurt each other. If I hurt any of the Cullens or my pack then I would feel horrible and Bella and I wouldn't be friends anymore. When she got pregnant I was afraid for her. Renesmee was growing rapidly and nothing had ever been heard before of a human and a vampire having a baby before. Nessie almost killed her mother, several times, but when she was born, Bella was changed into a vampire.

From the moment that I saw Renesmee I knew that I loved her. I have this pull to her that is hard to explain to others who don't know all of the legends of my tribe. But basically her and I are supposed to be soul mates. She is the one that is perfectly made for me."

"Then why aren't you with her," I asked intrigued.

"My wife Leah is like me and she possess the same feelings for me. It's hard to explain but she and I are meant for each other too. Nessie doesn't feel anything like that for me. We love each other but not in the way that she loves you. I guess that she is more of a vampire in that way. Maybe because she is a hybrid she can resist what I want her to be. We have yet to figure that one out. But I wanted to let you know that I know what it's like to lose her. You don't ever want to go through that."

"But she kept everything a secret from me. I don't know how I am supposed to handle that. I don't know if I can be with someone who has lied to me about everything."

"She couldn't tell you. The Cullens need to put on a façade that they are something other than what they are. They lead a different life than others of their kind. They don't hurt humans. They try to be as human as they possibly can be and Nessie is the closest to human as any of them. She is a lot like you because she can sleep, she can cry and she has more human emotions than the rest of them."

"They don't sleep," I asked curiously.

"No they don't. They can't sleep, their bodies don't change at all, they don't age and they have super human powers. Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future, Jasper can manipulate emotions, Bella can shield anybody from mental attacks and Nessie can show you her thoughts and memories."

"I saw Nessie's when she showed me what they were. I was confused at first."

"There is a lot to that family that you need to understand. It is unusual for that many of them to be together. Usually others of their kind travel in 2 or 3 and they are more of family then most. They love each other no matter what and there is no way to break their family up."

"I understand that they had to hide everything from me but I just don't like being lied to. She told me that her real parents died in a fire, that her real name was Vanessa. I feel like I don't even know her. I don't know what to do."

"Like I said you don't want Renesmee out of your life. She is a beautiful person inside and out and you are so lucky that she loves you in the way that she could never love me. If I were you I wouldn't let her go."

"I just need some time is all. I need to sort through everything."

"I understand that because it is a lot to process and it is a lot to understand."

"So Edward reads minds," I asked with disbelief.

"Yeah."

"So that's why he always looks like he is staring a whole right through me."

"That would be why."

"Why are you helping me," I asked after we were finished eating.

"What do you mean?"

"If you love her so much, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because my main goal in life is to make her happy and you are what makes her happy. She is a wonderful person Ross and I want you to take care of her."

"But what am I supposed to do? If we are together for a long period of time and I age and she doesn't am I supposed to be one of them? Are they going to change me?"

"That's a decision that all of the Cullens discuss with each other. Bella wondered the same thing and she wanted to be changed. Edward wanted her to stay human but there was no way that was going to happen."

"Thank you Jake, I appreciate everything."

"You're welcome Ross. I just want her to be happy so you better not hurt her. If you do hurt her I will come after you."

"I needed somebody to talk to."

"Also," he said giving the money to the waitress before she disappeared. "You can't tell anybody any of this. It's supposed to be kept a secret for a reason and you knowing is dangerous enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Did Nessie show you the black cloak guys?"

"Yes."

"Well they kind of have a say over everything in the vampire world. You just need to be careful."

"Great now I have them chasing me."

"Don't worry about it because the Cullens will protect you. Trust me on that."

"Do you need a ride anywhere? I just got the car and it needs to be broken in."

"Unless you want to give me a trip back home to Washington then I'll be all set."

"I could if you wanted me to."

"You're willing to give me a ride all the way back to Washington," he asked astonished.

"Well school's out for winter break and I've got no where else to go so yeah I guess I would be willing to do that. It takes quiet a while to get there and back and it will give me an opportunity to think and ask you some more questions."

"In that case thank you and I'll pay for gas and stuff like that."

"I have a little bit of money."

"Yeah but I have more than you do put it that way. Just relax about it okay. We'll switch off driving so that we don't get too tired. We should be there in about 2 days."

"Sounds good to me. Perfect road trip," I said sarcastically. Who would have ever guessed that Jacob and I would be driving to Washington all by ourselves?

When we showed up in Forks it was an interesting sight to see. Jacob was driving and we drove up this really long driveway that looked like the Cullens driveway in New York. When we got to the end of the three-mile driveway we were looking at a beautiful house.

"Where are we," I asked.

"The Cullens house. I figured you might want to get a good nights sleep before you drive back and I know they left their furniture here so you'll be able to sleep good tonight."

"How much money do they have," I asked. I probably didn't even want to know.

"Put it this way. Carlisle has been a doctor for nearly 300 years, Esme is an architect on the side and Alice can see the trends of the stock market and just about every kind of betting there is."

"So in other words, way too much."

"Exactly. Do you want a tour of the house?"

"No it's alright. I think I might stay here for a little while. It might be nice to explore a little bit anyways. Figure out where Nessie was born and everything. It might give me a different outlook."

"Sounds good. I'm just going to take off."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No. I managed to get to New York on foot so I think I can manage to get the few miles down the road. But I'll come check up on you. Feel free to go into town and grab some food. If I know the Cullens they managed to sneak a credit card into your wallet."

"Thank you Jake."

"No thank you. Good luck with everything. I hope that it works out for you."

"You really don't though."

"I just want Nessie to be happy and you are what makes her happy. Don't think anything different than that."

I nodded at Jake as I turned my back on him and walked into the monstrous house in front of me. They always did things big but it seems like when they moved to New York their family had grown. I caught a few peaks of Ann, Carrie, John, Alex and a few others I had never seen in the house next to them. Where they all vampire too? What was with this family? Half of the population would be vampires by the time that they moved away. How often did they move to keep up the charade?

I couldn't keep asking my questions because all they were going to do was get me into trouble. I didn't like being away from Nessie for this long and it was starting to hurt. The surprise of everything that just happened and everything I just found out was starting to drown away and I was beginning to realize what my life was like without her or her family in it. I walked around the house and searched all of it. Even with all of the furniture covered in plastic you could still figure out whose house it was.

I went upstairs first and looked in all of the bedrooms. With the amount of high-end furniture in here I could start my own furniture store and make a great living out of it. How was I going to stand being in school and seeing them all day? Nessie and I sat next to each other in Spanish and we were partners for a lot of the projects. How were we going to be able to work together? Would she hate me by the time that I returned? I didn't want to think of her right now because I would hate the image that was left inside of my head.

I could imagine her laying in her bed, curled up into a ball with her family laying with her and watching over her. Her hair would be all tangled and she wouldn't care about what she looked like. Her beautiful brown eyes would be red and puffy from crying so much and I didn't want to think I did that to her.

After a great night's sleep from being so tired and the fact that I was sleeping in Nessie's old bed, I decided that I wanted to go and explore where she had essentially grew up. I wanted to know as much about the Cullens as I possibly could from the people that knew them the best. Maybe these people didn't know them the best but it was worth trying anyways.

I went to Forks High School and looked through all of the awards on the walls. The Cullens were the only family to have all their kids graduate with 4.0 GPAs, so they must be extremely smart. It must have something to do with the fact that they couldn't sleep. Or maybe it had to do with their age. I never even asked how old all of them actually were. I knew that Carlisle was over 300 years old and if that was any indication then I was kind of worried to find out about the others.

None of the Cullens were involved in sports but that was probably so that they wouldn't get anymore necessary attention. But I knew that everybody in this place probably thought that something was up with this growing family.

"Can I help you with something," an older woman stated to me.

"No I'm just visiting."

"Ah, the Cullens."

"You know them," I asked questioningly.

"Yeah, extraordinary kids they were. Their parents were absolute dolls."

"Do you know much else about them?"

"Their father's a doctor and their mother is a stay at home mom that does interior designing on the side. They graduated about 7 and half years ago."

"And you still remember them?"

"Like they were here yesterday. They all made quite an impression on this school. I wonder if they are all still together."

"Yes they are," I said before realizing what I just said.

"Oh that's great to hear. Is Isabella still around?"

"Yes she and Edward are still married. They have a beautiful little girl."

"That's great. I was worried about her after her father died."

"What happened to him?"

"You must be a new friend because she doesn't like to talk about it. Her father was the chief of police and he dedicated himself to serving the community. He was a great man but when you have the type of job he had then things happen. He died in the line of duty around 6 years ago. After that Bella and Edward left to go off to school and nobody has heard from them since. She finally gave her dad's house away to a friend of hers from high school and I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon."

"That's a sad story."

"Yeah but everything with the Cullens is a sad story. I just hate that things had to end for her that way. I hope that she is happy."

"She is."

"So how do you know them?"

"College friends. I was up here and I wanted to find out where they grew up and what everything was like for them. They are very secretive of their past."

"They are secretive period. They didn't open up to many people while they were here. Bella was one of the only ones that they talked to."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I walked out of the high school and into the pouring rain outside. Why did it have to be so rainy and miserable here? Is this what I needed to show my emotions to me? I got into my car and traveled around the town and went to the grocery store. Just like Jake had said they had managed to slip me a credit card when I wasn't looking. Perhaps while I was asleep because apparently they had nothing else better to do at night then to find out things to do for me. I appreciated everything that they did for me but I didn't know what to do about Nessie.

I felt like an asshole. I had made the one person that I truly love in the world miserable because I overreacted about everything. After a week of laying in her old bed and thinking of everything that had happened, I decided that I needed to go home and fix everything that I had broken. I needed to ask all of the questions that I was asking to myself and hopefully get the answers that I wanted to hear. I needed to know everything that was involved with this before I started to think that I could ever be with her again.

Although I loved her I didn't know if I could handle knowing everything that I knew. The Cullens were vampires and her parents were the same age that she was. I wanted to hear the whole story with nothing being left out. I needed the answers to everything and I wasn't afraid of the black-cloaked vampires that Jake had warned me about. If I even knew a little bit I was in danger of them so why not know everything so I could understand it.

The ride home was longer than the ride up to Washington. Last time I at least had somebody to talk to that I could talk to about everything. I just needed to talk to somebody and since I could tell anybody anything about the Cullens, Jake was my only ally in all of this. Which seems strange to me but like he said I am what makes Nessie happy and if it weren't for that he and I wouldn't have even talked.

The supernatural world would grow on me possibly but it would take sometime to get used to. I would need to go into this slowly for my sake and for Nessie's. I didn't want her to get her hopes up that I would become what she wanted me to be incase everything didn't work out. I wanted to be with her, I knew that much, but I didn't know if I could look over everything that I knew now. I didn't know if I could be who she wants me to be and I didn't know if the Cullens would even let me anywhere near her.

I tried to contemplate who would be the first Cullen I could talk to. I was trying to go over in my head all of the possibilities and I decided that Bella would probably be the most reasonable about this. She had been human when she met the Cullens so she could probably relate to me better than anybody else. She had chosen the life that she was stuck in so I figured that talking to her before I talked to anybody else would be the best idea.

**A/N: Please review for me because I really love to read them. **

**They give me a lot of inspiration. All of the comments I usually leave here I'm changing to my profile so if you need an information regarding my story it is all there now.**

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**319 reviews, 158 favorites and 98 alerts.**

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	29. Kidnapped

**A/N : Alright so you guys probably thought I disappeared off the face of planet and I'm so sorry about that.**

**I don't normally take this long to update and I apologize. I just couldn't write this chapter. Good mood+depressing chapter=me depressed.**

**Umm, I want to thank you for sticking with me for this long. I never thought I would get this kind of response to my story.**

**In the beginning I had only a few people reviewing me but there are a lot of loyal readers and I appreciate every one of your reviews, I truly do.**

**So without further a do, chapter 27 everybody. Enjoy.**

**Bella's Point of View**

The first night that Ross had left Nessie made our entire family feel horrible. We didn't know what to do for her and none of us wanted to leave her alone. It was like we all lost a member of the family and now I understood how they felt when I wasn't around. When any of the Cullens decide that they are dating somebody it is more like somebody getting married. We don't care who you are or where you come from or what you are, we love you no matter what.

Nessie was half vampire, half human and if anything that made us love her even more. Ross was all human, just like I was when I was invited into this family, and I understood why Edward always felt the need to protect me. Ross was fragile, even though to the human eye he could take care of himself, and all of this made our family love him anymore. Nessie made her choice to be with him and we all respected her for it. At the moment none of us were happy with Ross for how he just up and left but we all knew in our hearts that he would come back. There was no staying away from the Cullens for long.

He was just panicked. There was no normal way to handle being told that your girlfriend is half vampire. It's not easy for anybody or anything. Writing music was the only way that I could think of speaking to him. The melody came through my head and through my fingers onto the piano. I was thinking of their story, which at the moment was a little tragic, and it made great inspiration for a composition. I thought of things that I would want to say to Ross if I ever got the chance to.

I realized after playing for a little while why musicians were always putting their thoughts through music. It was relaxing for me but at times frustrating as I tried to find the right words to say. I'm sure the entire house could feel my frustration but nobody came to help me. I was in my own little world and I was happy that I finally had some type of talent.

After playing piano until late in the morning, I put my focus back on my daughter. No matter how well I was playing and how much of a role I was on, my daughter was the most significant problem right now. I didn't want her to be destroyed like I was when Edward left. I didn't want her thinking that Ross would never come back and I didn't want her to be depressed.

I walked downstairs and everybody was in the living room sitting in silence. I walked over and sat on Edward's lap.

"What going on," I whispered. He looked at me and then looked down. I looked towards the floor and listened intently. I was confused.

"She finally fell into a deep sleep," he stated even quieter than I had. "We aren't making any noise. Apparently you put her to sleep."

"It calmed her," I asked confused.

"Yes love," he stated before kissing my forehead.

I smiled to myself as I listened to the quiet house and Renesmee's soft breathing. It was enlightening to finally have a quiet house just because it was so unusual. After sitting for hours just listening to Nessie sleeping, I decided to go hunting for a little while and maybe she would be up by the time that I got home.

I was sneaking up on an elk when I heard somebody coming at me from behind. I turned around just in time to see Renesmee jump on me with a huge smile on her face. What the hell was going on?

"Hi honey," I said lying on the ground with her on top of me. "What's up with you?"

"Did I scare you," she asked.

"A little bit, yes. I don't really like hunting by myself."

"I know you don't, that's why I'm here."

"Shouldn't I be helping you," I asked as she got up off of me and we sat with our legs crossed facing each other. I took my hand and held hers before she answered my question.

"Partially but I'll be fine as long as I don't talk about it. Everything will work out."

"How did you come to that realization?"

"I don't know I guess that it just came to me. Ross is just somebody that I know will be in my life forever. Even if he doesn't know it yet. I know that he will come around."

"But are you okay?"

"I'm getting there. I will be. I think I just need to not think about it."

"How is that working out?"

"Not too good," she admitted to me. I felt bad for her because she was stronger than I ever was. I couldn't even talk to anybody when Edward left me but maybe the circumstances are different. I thought that he was never coming back and it wasn't as if he left because he found out what I was. It was a bigger deal than that. But Ross was going to come back; we all had a feeling about it. Once the Cullens except you into the family, it is hard to stay away from them. It's just one of those things in the universe that can't be explained because there is some sort of gravitational pull towards them. I knew that Ross would have a hard time thinking about everything and trying to comprehend it all. It might take a while for him to figure everything out.

But Nessie would wait for him to figure it out because she could be patient with him. Nessie was too great of a person to walk away from. She was a catch and any guy would be lucky to have her. But perhaps I was a little bit biased considering she was my daughter. Every teacher I ever had told me when I had kids that everything in life would change and I never believed them until I found out I was pregnant. Even though it wasn't a normal pregnancy I knew I loved her from the moment that I knew.

"Everything will work out Nessie. Did I ever tell you about the time that your dad left me?"

"Yeah."

"He came back didn't he?"

"Yes but daddy is a lot different than Ross. He left out of stupidity thinking that you would be better off. Ross is just freaked out right now."

"He'll be back sweetie. Ross is a lot different than your dad but in a lot of ways they are alike. For one, they both love us."

"Did you hear that part," she said shamefully.

"Yes I did."

"It figures that the first time that we say we love each other is when we are in a massive fight."

"You wouldn't have it any other way."

"Nope, not at all."

"But you meant it right, all of it?"

"Of course I did. I don't say that I love you to everybody. He is someone special to me and he is the first person that I have felt those kinds of feelings for. I don't know what it is about him but there is just something about him that I can't quite describe and that is why I do love him. He is just so much different from any other person that I have met."

"Do you think he is different because you haven't talked to anybody human before?"

"No he is different from everybody else. He is the only one who had good intentions with me. There is just that personality and aura about him that I can't understand but it's so intriguing. There is just so many different things about him that I love and I don't think that it is something that will ever go away."

"You feel that strongly about him don't you?"

"Isn't that what I've been trying to convey this entire time."

"Don't be snippy to me missy," I stated touching the tip of her nose. "I'm only looking out for you."

"I know mom, I know. You don't have to be overly protective of me."

"Not overly protective but at least a little bit. I am still your mom after all."

"I know you are and I love you for being such a great mom but I don't need to be looked over every second of the day. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Well honey you may look like your 17 but you are only 7 years old. I should still have another 10 years to be protective of you. And even then I am still your mother and I will always look out for you and your best interests."

"Okay and right now it is in my best interest and yours to go hunting," she stated gracefully lifting herself off the ground. She extended her hand to mine and helped me off of the ground and once I was standing we took off running into the forest.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

Hunting with my mom did take my mind off of things for a little while but once we were finished and I was sitting at the piano, I couldn't take my mind off of Ross. I knew that I loved him and I wanted him to come back home so he wouldn't be living on the streets. I wanted him to forgive me and I wanted us to live with each other and love each other without it being awkward. I wanted him to understand what I was and I didn't want him to be freaked out about everything. Most of all I just wanted him to listen to his heart.

I remembered every time that we touched and how the way that he would hold my hand it would send a shock through me. Even the simplest thing like holding my hips going over a tree in the forest or holding hands when we were at school or sneaking hugs and kisses in when my family wasn't around, I missed. He had been everything in my life for the last few months. Every minute of every day was spent thinking about him and how much I loved him.

And now I spend every moment thinking of him but it's not in a good way. I want to miss him and know when I will see him again. I don't want to know that he is out there all on his own and there is no possible way to talk to him. He left last night and I already missed him. It wasn't like we hadn't spent this much time apart before but it was different now. Everything was different from before. Now he knew what I was.

I didn't want him to find out the way that he did. I wanted to tell him when the time was right but who knows when that would have been. I don't think that there would ever be a time to say 'by the way I'm half vampire.' Oh yeah because that always goes over well. I think that he reacted the same way that anybody else would have.

Ross is just one of those people who knows exactly how I was feeling without me even saying a word. Everything about him just entices me and I don't know what I would do if he was gone forever. I guess in my case the definition of love is that you wouldn't be able to live without them.

Even though we haven't known each other for a long time I feel like I have known him forever. And in the grand scheme of things I'm glad that he knows the truth about me. I can be myself around him now and he can know who my true family is. I don't have to pretend with him anymore, as long as he comes back.

I believe in my heart he will come back but my mind says something different. I'm trying to brace myself incase he doesn't come back because I don't want to get my hopes up. I want the devastation to come in slow paces, not all at once. Keeping my mind off of him was working out so well.

My fingers grazed over the piano keys and started playing a familiar tone. I had heard it last night when I was trying to sleep. For some reason the tempo seemed to relax me. I don't know who was playing or who came up with the idea but all I could guess was that it was my dad. He always had a way of relaxing me with music. Every composition he had ever written was beautiful. There was no doubt about that.

As the song drifted to a close I played the song that I had written. As I played the keys the lyrics now seemed to just flow out of me. I knew from the minute I heard the song that it was about Ross. How the chorus seemed to be climatic even with little variation of the keys and the end was peaceful, serene, completely fitting of the man that I loved.

It was one thing I never shared with Ross. I didn't want him to think it was horrible or that I was obsessive for writing a song about him. My music creations were the only things I could keep private from him. But even this was hard to keep. He had this quality about him where I wanted to tell him everything and now he knew everything except for my music. However, now I even wanted him to know about this.

Once I thought the song was perfect I put a plan into action to get him to hear it. I recorded the piano piece of my song before putting the lyrics over it. It took a long time to make everything perfect and before I knew it it was 3 in the morning. I hadn't realized how much time had passed because I wasn't remotely tired. Maybe it was because I slept so much the night before. I took the cd out and placed it on top of the piano before heading off to talk to Alice.

I knocked on the door to her and Jasper's room and immediately heard her say, "Come in Nessie." I walked in and she and Jasper were sitting at the top of the bed. Jasper had his legs spread out in front of him reading a book and Alice was sitting with her legs crossed with a magazine closed on the nightstand next to her. "What on your mind," she asked me patting the bed in front of her. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed with my legs hanging off the side not looking at her.

"I was wondering if you've been keeping tabs on Ross," I asked ashamed.

"A little bit but he disappeared. I can't see him right now."

"Oh no, is he okay?"

"All signs point to that but I don't know Nessie. Maybe he's just chosen to come back to you."

"How long have you not been able to see him," I asked panicked.

"After he left I saw him for a few minutes but after that nothing. He was trying to decide where to go and then all of a sudden it disappeared. I'm sure that we will hear from him soon."

"Damn me, seriously," I yelled frustrated putting my head in my hands. "Because of me we can't see him and because of me something bad might have happened to him. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to him. I should have followed him to make sure that he was okay. Oh my god, I'm the worst person in the world."

"Nessie it's not your responsibility to protect him. I went through this with Edward and Bella too. You can't protect him every second of every day. He needed to be alone with his thoughts. I'm sure that he is just trying to figure out what to do. You just need to relax."

"And do what," I asked sadly. "I've tried everything. I hunted, I played music for so long I think that my fingers hurt."

"Well I've got something that could keep your mind off of things," she said with a devilish tone.

"What? You're not going all extreme makeover on me."

"Maybe in the morning when the mall opens up we can get you a whole new wardrobe."

"Alice how many different wardrobes do I need?"

"This could be your 'gothic' wardrobe. All black and mysterious and we could do up the make-up and everything. We could even put insane color extensions into your hair."

"Oh yeah, like I need anymore of that," I stated running my fingers through my messy bush of hair. "I have so much of it to begin with."

"But it would be so much fun, please? That way we can all get new wardrobes."

"Aren't you doing enough for Christmas?"

"Not enough though. Come on Nessie, please."

"Fine we will go in the morning. I need to go keep myself occupied until then."

"We can do the hair now if you want," Alice stated excitedly jumping off the bed and running towards the bathroom. I looked at Jasper and he looked kind of upset.

"Am I interrupting your evening Uncle Jazz," I asked seriously laying across the bed and putting my chin in my hands looking up to him.

"No that's not it."

"What's going on?"

"You never want me to tell you how you are feeling so I really don't think you want to hear about it," he whispered. Oh, I sometimes forgot how the people around him affected his mood.

"Oh jeez I'm sorry. I really am."

"You don't want to know do you?"

"Not really because I'm confused as it is."

"Your mood is confused and changing every moment."

"What do you mean?"

"Your upset, your angry, your regretful, your depressed, you got happy when Alice mentioned shopping, you resented yourself when you let Ross leave and right now you are feeling sorrow for making my emotions all jumbled."

"I'm sorry. I should probably get out of here then."

"Go see Alice because I know it will make you happy. Plus if you do a bright pink or something in your hair your parents will freak." He chuckled under his breath and I laughed springing up off of the bed and into the bathroom to a waiting Alice.

**Alice's Point of View**

I had been trying to cheer Nessie up for the past few days. I pulled out every arsenal I had to make her happy. The hair came out amazing if I do say so myself because with her brown hair she now has bright blue extensions in her hair. The look on Edward's face was one that I would never forget. It made it worth it for us to do that so I can have the picture burned into my brain forever. Not to mention the fact that Renesmee could show the picture anytime she wanted.

The next morning we went out shopping. I don't think that she even slept. Maybe it was all of the sleep the night before. I had been trying to look out for the future when I wasn't around her but sometimes it was better to live in the present and try to help the family around you. Right now Nessie needed me more than I needed to be looking for something I could look for later.

The mall was a complete success and not many people where there because it was so early in the morning. We were waiting out in the parking lot when the mall officially opened. Every time we passed a store and I thought it was a cute outfit Nessie could wear out on a date I bought it. I knew in my heart that he was coming back. I didn't need any vision to tell me that. I could tell by looking at them together that they were just like the rest of us.

Whenever Jacob looked at her the way that he did I never got a good feeling about it. Not because I didn't like Jacob to begin with but for some reason I could sense that they were not meant for each other. Nessie and Jacob are two different people that are still so much alike but I don't think that they are soul mates. Renesmee and Ross are perfect for each other and the minute that I saw him walk into the cafeteria that day I knew that there was something different about him then all the other humans.

Ross had now officially been gone 4 days and everybody in the house was starting to get worried. I was sure that he had enough time to figure out what he was doing. I decided to go out for a nice hike in the woods by myself to get some alone time. I needed some time to look into the future that I had been avoiding the past few days. I rarely left Renesmee's side and the entire family was there too. We played every game known to man including an entire 24 hours of guitar hero. Every guitar hero that was ever made we beat on the highest level and it was just one of the things that we did to pass the time without her having to think too much about everything that was going on. For some reason she wasn't sleeping as much as she had before but we all said that it was because she was heartbroken and her body wouldn't let her sleep. She was too upset to sleep.

Once I was far away from the house I sat on a rock and listened to my surroundings. I focused on Ross for a moment, searching in every reach of my mind. I hated that I couldn't see him but slowly he was coming into focus. He was standing in the woods with his car beside him and he was staring up at a house. I looked closely at the house and realized that he was in Forks. Why the hell was he in Forks? He walked around the entire house and every nook and cranny and he ended up in the basement on Renesmee's bed. I realized now that he was probably with Jacob for some unknown reason and that was why I couldn't see him. I wanted to know what had happened but I knew that Ross was safe and that's all that mattered.

All of a sudden a flash came into my head. The Volturi were all standing together and they were in a house. I hadn't ever seen it but the yard outside looked familiar. I tried to search through my memory to figure out where I had seen it before. I searched and searched and searched.

"Oh my God," I screamed running through the forest. Why had I gone this far? I should have stayed closer to the house.

**Ann's Point of View**

After the long day of trying to entertain everybody, Alex and I were sitting in our bed listening to the radio trying to play name that tune. We did that a lot to pass the time. Everything that we did we tried to have fun with. He would beat me sometimes but mostly that was because he froze time so that he could think of the song before I did. It was a totally unfair advantage and once I caught on to what he was doing I would zap him. Hey, turn around is fair play. We were in the middle of trying to figure out what CCR song was on the radio when my cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it. But the area code was 413 and that was the Western Massachusetts zip code.

"Hello," I said unknowingly.

"Ann," a woman said with a raspy voice. "Ann, it's mom. Josh is gone."

**A/N: Incase you forgot, Josh is Ann's brother. He figured out everything. So on and so on. Go back and read chapter 22 to remember if you need to.**

**Okay the crap has hit the fan and on with the action. Umm thank you for reading this, i love all of you.**

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**~Sabrina~**


	30. Black

**A/N: So you guys must love me for getting this out so quickly. 4 days isn't too bad for me.**

**Plus on top of everything else this is the longest chapter that I have ever written.**

**There is also a new story I posted that lets you know the background of the new characters. I'm still working on some of them though but check it out. **

**Also I am looking for a Beta if anybody is interested. Let me know.**

**Alright without further ado here is chapter 28. Enjoy!**

**Ross' Point of View**

The drive back home took forever. I now wished I wouldn't have gone so far away. When I made the decision to go home it would still take me 2 days to get there. The hardest part of all of this was that the Cullens might not take me back. Or worse Nessie. It was a fact I had been going over in my head again and again. What if after the way I reacted to everything none of them wanted me anymore?

But I made the decision to talk to Bella first. Maybe that way I could understand how to make my decision and deal with it. I was still having a hard time believing that Bella was Nessie's mom. But after looking back at how they interacted with each other, it became clearer and clearer.

As I pulled up the driveway I realized that I should have called first. What if Bella wasn't home and the first person I ran into was Emmett or worse Edward. My mind was reeling as I put the car in park in front of the house and walked up to the front door. Was I supposed to knock or go right in? After pondering for a minute I opened the door slowly and once I stepped inside Bella was standing at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Edward said you wanted to talk to me," she stated as if I had asked him to tell her but I hadn't.

"Oh yeah, the mind reading thing. I forgot about that."

"It will take a while to understand everything. So what would you like to talk about," she asked. Before I knew it she was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room but my eyes hadn't seen her get there. I stood dumbfounded. "Okay I may have to wait to do that stuff in front of you. That's not even that fast. Now come on over and sit or perhaps you would like me to come get you and carry you over here," she chuckled although I knew she wasn't joking. I made my way over to her and sat down on the couch facing her. "So what would you like to know," she asked sincerely.

"How did you react when you found out about Edward," I asked. It was the first question that I could come up with. Maybe once the conversation went further I could get into more of the details with her.

"At first I was scared and I didn't know how powerful that part of him was. I didn't know what to make of it or what to really believe. But after thinking about it it didn't really matter what he was. Who Edward was amazed me, not what he was. Every single piece of him intrigued me. I would have loved him the same if he were a human or a werewolf or whatever else. I love him because of who he is, not what he is."

"How did the other stuff work? I mean, the whole vampire blood thing?"

"It was extremely hard for him to endure my blood. For him it was more enticing then anything he had ever smelled. But he felt the same way I did. His love for more outshone the love for my blood and it's a little hard to explain other than that. You would really need to talk to him about that."

"And you deal with the blood thing well? Jake told me that you guys are vegetarians."

"It's hard of course because we are going against our nature. I know that if there was nothing to eat but tofu you would eat it but it's not something that you crave. I'm a little bit different because even as a human I could smell blood. The smell of it made me sick and nauseas. When I was changed into a vampire I was different then everybody else. But just because I can resist the blood doesn't mean that I am immune to it. None of us truly are."

"Is it hard for Nessie?"

"At times it is but not as bad it is for the rest of us. She is one of only few of her kind. There are only 4 others like her. She isn't venomous like we are meaning that she wouldn't be able to turn anybody into a vampire because she can't poison them. But she would still be able to drain them fully of blood if she ever lost control."

"And how does turning somebody into a vampire work?"

"You'll have to wait and see. It takes a while for people who are introduced into our world to figure out everything there is to know. The Cullens wouldn't tell me for the longest time because they knew the second I found out I would want to do it. But one thing that you do need to understand is that vampires are very different then humans when it comes to love. When we find the ones that we love they are our soul mates, the one and only person that we are supposed to be with. Vampires mate for eternity. Carlisle and Esme, for example, have been together for over 80 years."

80 years! "Damn. How the hell old are you guys?"

"Well Carlisle is the oldest of all of us and he really is the creator of our family. He was the first of our kind to be able to resist human blood and he has had over 300 years. He was born in the 1640s in England. Since then he has practiced medicine because he wants to help out wherever he can. The next oldest is Jasper. He was born in 1843 and he was changed while he was a major in the confederate army. He can tell you the rest of the story. Like Edward I don't like to tell other people's stories because I never get them right." I nodded my head for her to continue. This is the stuff that Jacob might not know of the Cullens.

"Alice and Edward are the same age but they were brought into our world in different ways. Alice had a troubled upbringing because she could see visions. Her family didn't care about her and the day the brought her to a mental hospital was the same date on her death certificate. Edward was dying in 1918 of the Spanish influenza. Carlisle was working nights at the hospital and was taking care of Edward's mother. When she passed on, she had told him to take care of Edward and Carlisle did something no one of his kind did. He changed Edward and ever since then those two have been extremely close.

After Edward, Carlisle changed Esme in 1921 and was born in 1895. She and Carlisle are completely made for each other. I have never seen another relationship like theirs. It's just something that doesn't really exist except in our world. Rosalie was born in 1915 in Rochester, New York. Even in her human life she was one of the most beautiful people in the world. One night something terrible happened to her and she was left to die. Carlisle found her in the morgue almost dead and decided to save her thinking she would be a great partner for Edward." Bella laughed a little bit but continued on without any hesitation.

"Of course we all know how that turns out. Rosalie actually saved Emmett from being mauled by a bear. Emmett was also born in 1915 but was changed 2 years after Rosalie. And I am actually not that old. I'm only 26. I was changed when I was 19 after giving birth to Renesmee. If I hadn't been changed I would have died. But having her was the biggest miracle of my life because nobody ever knew that male vampire could still reproduce. Female vampires can't hold a baby because once you are changed your body doesn't change at all. So there is no way for a woman to be able to hold a child."

"Doesn't that make you feel bad though? Like if you wanted to have more children."

"I was prepared to not have any children actually. After all the planning that went into me being changed I knew I was giving up the right to bear children. But I did get pregnant and it's a miracle that I have even one child."

"Do you think that Nessie would be able to bear children?"

"We don't know because we haven't tried it and we hope she doesn't try it anytime soon." She shot me a dirty look.

"I haven't even thought about that, ask Edward. I'm saving myself until I'm married."

"You are a lot like Edward."

"What do you mean?"

"He had the same morals as you do. It's just so rare to see it somebody these days."

"But you only met him less than 10 years ago. There is no way that times could have changed that much."

"No but times have changed since he was born. He was born in the early 1900s and he was raised with morals. I'm glad that it is still around today."

"Yeah but I don't go around flaunting that fact. It is a little embarrassing if you tell people you are waiting for marriage because it's so unheard of now and it's not the cool thing to do."

"Well hearing that makes me as a mother feel better."

"I'm really sorry," I said lowering my head. "I left and I didn't tell any of you where I was going and I hurt Nessie, I must have. I feel horrible."

"Everything will be okay Ross. We completely understand and as for where you were we have Alice for that. You were in Forks."

"Yeah I was."

"And what did you do while you were there?"

"Explored mostly. I wanted to see where Nessie was born and everything. Jacob needed a ride and I needed some place to stay for a little while. I guess I always knew I was coming back but I needed some time to myself with my thoughts."

"Completely normal. It does take a while to process everything."

"Is there anyway that I could see Renesmee?"

"Wow, it's weird hearing you call her that. You really should talk to her but she is in Massachusetts."

"Why is she there?"

"Something happened to Ann's brother. Ann, Alex, Carrie, John and Nessie went down there."

"Have they figured anything out yet?"

"No and Ann is freaking out."

"I really need to see her. I've been away from her for too long."

"Then why don't you and I take a trip?"

She looked at me and smiled and I jumped at the opportunity. I needed to see Nessie as soon as possible and if that meant I would need to drive more than so be it. I had already driven almost fully across the country so why not continue on? Bella and I walked out the door without saying a word to anybody or packing anything and I handed her my keys.

"Are you kidding me," she asked.

"No. I've driven across the country and I don't want to drive anymore."

"Alright, but I won't get us there very fast."

She got into the driver's seat and programmed the gps and was out of the driveway in no time. Okay she said we weren't going to get there very fast. Her driving scared me so much that I couldn't even fall asleep because I was afraid that I would lose my life.

**Ann's Point of View**

"Mom," I asked with sincerity and surprise in my voice. "What do you mean Josh is missing?"

"I came over here to check on him and Ann and he wasn't here. Ann was asleep in her room and he was nowhere to be found. I waited and waited and there is still no sign of him. They said he didn't show up on site today and I'm worried because his car is here and he's not. I was looking through his phone book and you were in there under a number I have never seen. I just didn't know who else to call."

"Mom," I said again wishing that I could cry. My mother was the one person that I wanted to talk to more than anybody. I wanted to be there to hold her. "Mom, I'm on my way."

"I'll see you soon and we're gonna have to talk."

"I love you," I said jumping up off of my bed and scrambling around my room for my keys.

"I love you too," she said before I hung up the phone. I tossed it on the ground and went into my nightstand. My keys were there and when I turned around Alex, Carrie and John were all standing in the doorway.

"What are you waiting for," Carrie said. "We've got to go."

The 4 of us ran out of the house and into the garage. Nessie was in there cleaning her car.

"What's going on," Nessie asked.

"Just get in the car if you want to come," John demanded. She got up instantly and was put in the backseat next to Carrie. I flung the car into drive and was down the driveway before I could even take a breath. I needed to get home, I needed to see my mom and I needed to make sure that my brother was okay. What if all of this was my fault? What about my little niece? What was going to happen to her?

"Ann you don't want to wreck your car," Alex said calmly putting his hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you slow down just a little bit?"

I did as he said but it was killing me to drive slower when I knew what was going on back home. I kept my eyes focused on the road ahead of me and tried not to think of what was happening.

"What going on," I heard Renesmee ask again. "I want to know what's going on."

"Ann's brother," Carrie said quietly. "He's missing and we are going to see if we can figure out what's going on. We don't know what happened to him and we want to make sure that everything is okay."

"What about her mom?"

"Her mom called to tell her what was going on."

"But doesn't…"

"Let's just be quiet Ness. Think of other things."

The car fell quiet after that and stayed that way until we hit Massachusetts. I drove down the familiar streets but I was rushing. I wasn't reminiscing about the good times I had here because I had other things that I had to think about. I didn't want to think that it was my fault that my brother disappeared. Was my secret too much for him to bear?

A million thoughts ran through my head as I pulled into his driveway. There was no reason to be secretive anymore as the 5 of us piled out of the car and walked up the front walk onto the porch. I knocked on the door and my niece answered the door.

"Aunty Ann," she yelled. I picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"Hey baby girl, I missed you."

"I missed you too. Come on, Grammy is inside."

I put her down and she took my hand leading me into the dining room. Everybody followed behind me but at a distance. I was nervous as I turned the corner and saw my mom sitting at the table. I was about to break down but she did it for me. She got up slowly and came over to hug me. I could feel the tears roll off of her cheeks and onto my t-shirt. I really should have brought a different shirt to wear but I was in too much of a hurry to do anything about it.

"I miss you sweetie," she told me in-between her sobs.

"Oh mom," I said quietly. "I'm so so sorry. I so sorry," I sobbed. I didn't know what else to do but just stand there and hold her. I couldn't even come up with words to tell her how sorry I was. She had figured out that her daughter was alive and not living too far away and she still didn't come to see her. I wanted to tell her everything and tell her why I had to stay away. She didn't deserve me as a daughter and now the only child that she had left was gone. It's not what she needed in her fragile state.

"Sweetie, don't worry about it," she sniffled. She released me and looked me up and down. "Now let me see you," she stated circling her finger telling me to turn around. Only my mom would ask me to do this. I did as she asked and flipped my hair over my shoulder when I was finished and struck a pose with a smile on my face. My mom chuckled a little bit but her face instantly went back to sadness.

I watched her eyes and they focused behind me. I turned around and saw Carrie standing in the doorway. "My cupcake," she yelled as she walked over to her and hugged her. "You look amazing as always." My mom backed up and looked at the two of us standing side by side just like we had been our entire lives. "My girls," she yelled again with enthusiasm before hugging us together.

"I don't care where you two have been," she whispered in our ears. My niece was standing next to me and I picked her up and placed her on my hip. She cuddled her head into my shoulder almost immediately. She was just the sweetest little girl I had ever met.

"Mom I want you to meet somebody. Alex," I said motioning for him to come in the dining room. "Mom this is my husband Alex. Alex this is my mother."

He walked in and smiled at her but I could tell that he was nervous. She looked at him and I could see her eyes light up.

"It's nice to meet you," he said extending his hand. She wrapped her arms around him immediately.

"Welcome to the family. You better be taking care of her."

"I am as best as I can," he said bluntly with a little bit of a laugh. "But she really can take care of herself." He looked down at me and smiled before kissing my head. My niece looked at him.

"Oh sorry. Alex this is my niece Ann. Ann this is your uncle Alex."

"Hi Uncle Alex," she said shyly hiding behind my hair.

"And this is your aunty Carrie and your uncle Johnny."

"Uncle Johnny," my mom said. Carrie nodded her head and John walked in the room behind Carrie. "Well you two leave and get married," she said sarcastically. "I don't want to know what happened. But we really do need to find out what's going on."

"Alright," I said putting my niece down. "Why don't you go play sweetheart and we will come and get you when we are done."

"Are you staying for a little while," she asked not letting me go.

"For a little while." Her face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "Now you go and play alright," I said kissing her head. She ran off and Renesmee stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Mom this is our friend Renesmee. She needed to get out of the house."

"Well it's nice to meet you Renesmee," she said with difficulty. We all sat down at the dining room table and looked around at each other. This is not something that I was prepared for. "Ann honey," my mom started sadly. "I'm so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but your dad passed away yesterday."

Alex reflexively put his hand on my shoulder and my mom held my hand. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my dad. I wanted to break down again and I wished that I could. I wanted to be able to shed a tear for my dad. He was such an important person while I was growing up and I wanted him to know how much I cared about him. Now I couldn't even say goodbye to him.

"We are having a small service for him in 2 days but it's not going to be much. We really didn't want to make a big deal out of it because we don't have many people left in our lives. Little Annie was really upset when I first told her."

"Does she know about Josh yet," I asked with my voice a little raspy.

"Not yet. I told her that he is on vacation. I don't want her having to lose her father on top of her grandparents."

"Both," I asked looking up at her.

"I'm not going to be around much longer sweetie. I can just feel it. I just don't want her to feel like everybody in her life is leaving her. She doesn't really have anybody in her life. Her mom is gone and now Josh and me and your father. Nothing is going right in that little girl's life and it's just horrible."

"Well she has me."

"What," she asked surprised.

"I will take her. I'm the only family that she really has left and I'm not going to let her go into social services. She doesn't deserve that. But we don't know for sure that Josh isn't coming back. He has to come…"

I took a deep breath in and immediately I hissed exposing my teeth. Everybody looked at me and also took a deep breath in. "Vampires," I whispered so quietly that my mother wouldn't be able to hear me.

**Ross' Point of View**

As Bella drove into a driveway I recognized Ann's car in the driveway. I knew that something bad had happened because we were at some random house. Bella got out of the car and I followed beside her. All of a sudden she put her arm out in front of me and I heard and saw her sniffing the air around her.

"Oh yeah real discrete," Ann said coming around the corner. "Come on inside."

Bella hugged Ann so tightly I thought that Ann was going to be cracked in half.

"How are you doing," Bella asked putting her arm around her before they started walking in front of me. I just decided to follow them.

"I'm doing okay. My dad's funeral is in a few hours."

"Oh God, I thought Josh was missing."

"He is."

"Jeez and all of this is happening at once?"

"Yes and we have a new member to the family."

"Who?"

"Little Annie. Somebody needs to take care of her and I feel like I have an obligation to my family to do it. My mom isn't going to be here much longer so she can't watch her. I just didn't want her to go into foster care. She is too sweet of a little girl."

We walked onto the porch and immediately went into the kitchen and into the dining room before taking a seat. Carrie, John and Alex were already sitting at the table and they immediately changed the conversation.

"Are we crazy Bells or do you smell what we smell," Carrie asked.

"I smell exactly what you do but I don't think you realize how big of a deal this is."

"Do you know who it is," Ann asked.

"Yes and I was hoping that I would never smell this horrid smell ever again."

"Who," the 4 of them yelled at Bella.

"It's the Volturi," she stated simply.

"My queue to leave," I said getting up quickly. "Where's Nessie?"

"Outside on the swing," Ann said before focusing her attention back on Bella. I decided that it was best that I wasn't here for that particular conversation. I didn't know if I could deal with any more vampire drama. They have more drama than a bunch of teenage girls. I walked back outside and looked around the backyard until I saw a swing underneath the trees in the backyard with a person sitting on it.

I approached slowly to make sure that Nessie wouldn't be scared and run off. I wanted to make sure that I did all of this right because I had been planning this one moment for an entire week. Before I could make it all the way to her she was gone.

Before I could ask her to stop I was being tackled to the ground. With the force that she ran into me with I couldn't tell if she was trying to be playful or if she was trying to hurt me. The moment that she kissed my neck and I felt the warm wet tears hit my cheek I knew that she was happy. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her with as much force as I had.

I was so happy in the position that I was in I never wanted to get up. I wanted to hold her in my arms forever. She kissed my cheek and I kissed ever inch of her face. I missed her so much and there was never any amount of kissing or hugging that could convey how much I truly missed her. There was no way that I could ever stay away from her. She was going to be in my life forever.

"I missed you," I whispered letting a tear run down my cheek. She sat up a little bit and looked at me smiling with her tear stained cheeks. I smiled back at her as she wiped the tear off of my cheek. "I am so sorry," I said sincerely grabbing her and giving her another hug.

"I'm sorry too," she admitted.

"For what," I asked as she pulled back. She stood up and grabbed my hand leading me back to the swing.

"For not telling you. I never wanted you to find out the way that you did. I feel horrible for not telling you the truth and lying to you. It's not who I am."

"It's not like you lied over something stupid. You lied to me to protect me and to protect your secret. You needed to know that you could trust me to keep your secret."

"And I do trust you, I always have. I just afraid that you would leave me and when you did leave, all of my nightmares came true."

"I am so sorry about that. I just needed to figure everything out. I needed to sort it all out and I'm sorry if I left you feeling like that. There was no way to call you from where I was."

"Where did you end up going?"

"I don't know if I want to tell you."

"Oh come on, there are no secrets here," she joked nudging my arm. "You know that you can tell me anything."

"I went to Forks."

"How did you end up there?"

"Jake and I were talking and he needed a ride home."

"So you talked to Jake," she asked sounding hurt.

"I kind of didn't have a choice. He got into my car and said we needed to talk. And after seeing what I had seen him do I was not going to deny him anything."

"I understand. It was scary."

"You've never seen him do that?"

"Not with anger like that I hadn't. I was just as scared as you were."

"But you walked towards him?"

"I was trying to calm him down. Usually when he is upset I can comfort him. But he was obviously having none of that."

"I could see that. I was scared for you and for me. You have to understand that night was scary for me. I didn't know anything that was going on." She nodded her head. "So you have some pretty cool gifts."

"Yeah I do. I was born with the one that I showed you."

"And the other?"

"I kind of came into as I grew older. My father was a vampire when I was born so his power was there from the minute I was born. But because my mom was human it took a little bit longer for my other power to come in."

"And will you show me sometime what you can do?"

"When we get home," she said with a smile.

"Home," I questioned.

"Yes home. You didn't think I was going to let you live anywhere else did you?"

I put my arm around her and she snuggled up into my chest while the swing swung in the wind. It was relaxing to be with her by ourselves without anybody watching us or making stupid comments in the background. That was always Emmett's job back at home.

Home, I missed it so much. I don't even remember what it was like to go to school. After my car accident I hadn't gone back to school and now it was Christmas vacation. Christmas itself was only 3 days away and I hadn't done any shopping.

Ann came out 10 minutes later and walked over to us.

"Come on you two, we are going to the mall," she stated enthusiastically. I didn't understand how she could be so happy with everything that was going on in her life. Almost every member of her family was passing away and I know that when my mother died I couldn't even fake a smile. Maybe that was the big difference between us.

"Why," Renesmee wined.

"Oh Nessie act your age. We need to go and get clothes to pay respect to my dad," she said the last part sadly. So it really was affecting her but I could tell that she didn't want anybody to see her like that.

"Okay," we both stated in unison getting off the swing and walking towards the car. Ann got into the driver's seat and before I knew it we were at the mall.

"Now we need to get outfits for everybody. We can't go to a funeral in these clothes."

She got out of the car and headed into the first store. I had never seen somebody shop so quickly before. Ann was on a mission and she seemed like she knew what she was going to get everybody. All of the girls, except for Nessie, were in black knee length dresses that we all styled different and Nessie was in a pair of black dress pants and a black button down shirt which oddly seemed to match me except I wore a deep purple tie and she wore heels. Apparently the only reason I was there was so that Ann could measure me.

The weirdest thing was that they didn't need me to carry their bags for them. I was so used to carrying all of the bags when a girl went shopping and now I felt like a sissy walking around the mall with two girls holding one bag while they were holding three each. I could tell I was going to feel very macho now.

The funeral was not something any of us were looking forward to. Annie held onto Ann for dear life the entire time because she was afraid. The poor little girl probably didn't know what was going on and they had told her that her father was on vacation. But with everything that I had heard about the Volturi I knew that he probably wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon.

After the funeral we went back to the house and relaxed for the night. I said goodbye to Ann's mom who went home for the night and little did I know it would be the last time I would see her. She passed away in her sleep that night. I guess when you lose both of your children and your husband there is really no reason to fight anymore.

Ann lost it one night from what I heard. We were staying in Massachusetts until after the funeral. Renesmee and I had been sleeping in the guest room and I heard Ann's dry sobs in the next room. It bothered me to no end that somebody like her was hurting. I knew what it was like to lose a parent and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It is a horrible feeling knowing that you can never see them again and days seem to last so much longer when you know that they aren't going to be there in the morning.

I got out of bed quietly trying not to wake up Renesmee and went into the next room. She was sitting alone on the bed holding a picture to her chest. I wanted to cry as I saw her sitting there. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. I put my arm around her and she continued to sob into my chest. The picture that she was holding in her hands was a picture of her family at her high school graduation. They all looked so happy to be there and I realized that I wanted that. I wanted to have the picture with both of my parents when I graduated high school but I knew that would never happen. I would take pictures by myself because as far as I was concerned I didn't have parents. The one that I loved the most was gone forever and the one I hated I would never talk to again.

Ann broken was something that I never wanted to see. It took her a while to calm down and I was afraid that Alex might get upset with me. When she was done crying she went into Annie's room and watched her sleep. I went downstairs and Alex was sitting on the porch.

"Is she okay now," he asked quietly.

"I think so. She's watching over Annie right now."

"I just didn't know what I could do for her. She didn't want me anywhere near her and I couldn't disobey her. I have the ability to freeze time but I wish that I had the ability to turn it back so she could spend more time with them. She didn't even get to say goodbye to her dad."

"It's not your fault Alex, it's not. If it weren't for you then she wouldn't be alive. She is here because you had the strength to change her. You need to realize that she loves you and even though she is going through a hard time right now she will get back to herself. This is a hard situation."

"And you went through it right," he asked unsure of himself.

"Yes. I lost my mother. She had always been my rock and now she isn't here anymore. It was hard for a long time because after she passed away my brothers went off to college and my dad became even more of an ass. I just had to try and get past all of it."

"And are you over it?"

"I think that I am most of the time but nights like tonight when I see somebody like Ann broken down it makes all of those memories come back up again. I just don't want this to break her. She is stronger than this."

"I know. She is the strongest person that I know."

"Why don't you go up and spend time with her? She would probably love to have you in there keeping her company."

"I know I'm going right now."

"Good."

"And you should probably get some sleep too. We've got a ride home for Christmas in the morning."

"Do you think Annie will realize Christmas is a little late this year?"

"I don't think she is keeping count of the days. But come on, bed time for the human."

"Can you guys stop calling me 'the human'? It's really starting to bother me."

"Well that's what you get for being the human."

"What about Annie? She's a human."

"Well she's the kid."

"And what are you? The ass?"

"Pretty much."

I just shook my head and laughed a little bit before going back upstairs to Renesmee. I just realized how awesome it was to be sharing a bed with her. But I knew that it wouldn't last long once we got home because her dad wouldn't have anything to do with that. But I was going to enjoy it while I could. I got back in the bed and underneath the covers. It was cold down here and her warmth was appreciated.

"Where did you go," she asked sleepily.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," she said sitting up a little bit to look at me. "What's going on?"

"Ann was having some troubles so I was just comforting her. I've been in her position before."

"It was really sweet of you to do that."

"Thanks Nessie."

"I just want you to know when we get home there is a lot of stuff that is going to happen."

"Like what?"

"The Volturi thing can't go unnoticed and I know that Ann is going to do everything in her power to get her brother back. I just want you to be prepared because there are going to be a lot of others at our house."

"But they aren't like you are they?"

"No. They are the ones that give us a bad name. I just want you to be prepared because Alice has been making phone calls and we are gonna need to practice."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"Watch Annie of course."

"Sounds good to me. As long as I don't get in the way of any of you guys I'll be happy."

"I love you Ross."

"I love you too," I said kissing her forehead. "Now let's get some sleep."

She kissed my cheek before we lay down in the bed and she snuggled into me. I was asleep within minutes from her warmth and I loved every minute of it.

**A/N: Let me know what you think. Love it or hate it.**

**I didn't get that many reviews for the last chapter so you're making me think I suck at writing this.**

**Anyways it's going to be action and fluff from here on.**

**I started crying during this chapter too. It's quite sad that I cry while I'm writing.**

**Oh and thank you to Mommiebird for the sweet review you wrote me. You seriously made my year for saying that.**

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	31. Bed

**A/N: I am so so sorry about how long this took. I didn't mean for it to take this long but a lot of things have happened in the past week but I'm not getting into them.**

**I wanted to thank all of you for sticking with me and I am finishing this story, it's just taking a little while. **

**I will finish it by the time that I go back to school (hopefully) and I'm trying to come up with new ideas.**

**I hope you like this chapter, it's the longest yet.**

**Without further ado here is chapter 29. Enjoy.  
**

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**Bella's Point of View**

I couldn't believe that I was actually letting Ross and Renesmee sleep in the same bed. It was one of those things that I knew they could get away with when Edward wasn't around. He was too over-protective of her. I knew that they wouldn't try anything because they were in a house of vampires. There was no way that they could do anything without us hearing anything and after what Ross told me about waiting for marriage made me feel better.

After everything that we had been through in the past week it was amazing that it had only lasted that long. A lifetime seemed to have passed since Jacob showed up at the house and ruined everything. And by the time that we got home it would be time to celebrate Christmas and then it was time to practice. Josh was missing and that was the biggest thing in Ann's life. She wanted to find him and if something happened to him it would be the end of her. She had been through way too much in the past week for any of us to even fathom. Her brother went missing and both of her parents passed away within days of each other. It had been hard for me to lose my dad but I couldn't imagine losing both in that short of a time.

Ann was just such an upbeat woman and it was hard for me to see her hurting. I could tell that she was upset even though she didn't want us to see her like that. She wanted all of us to believe that she was okay but we all knew better. Somehow Ross was able to calm her down and Alex went back to her. Now with everybody else in bed or distracted by kids I had nothing to do but sit by myself. I didn't have anything to but think.

I worried about the Volturi first and foremost. I didn't know what to think of it anymore. The battle had been coming for a while but now that it was in the forefront I was scared. I didn't want any member of my family hurt or killed. I don't know what I would do if Renesmee was hurt or Edward. I don't think that I would handle any of it well.

Esme was not one for confrontation and I was frightened for her. She is so sweet, kind and compassionate. There is no way that we couldn't love her because her personality was just beaming. Esme is the heart of our family and to lose her would be sad for all of us. A family couldn't live without its heart.

Carlisle would be tough to lose. He is the soul of our family and the backbone. Without him we would get into so many arguments. His wisdom from over the years had spread over us all but we had so much room to grow. He was our support and without him we wouldn't be able to function.

Alice brought so much light to our family. She is the one that keeps us all happy and dressed appropriately. She was the one looking out for us, an angel as it would seem. Her visions helped to steer us in the right direction to make sure none of us were hurt or lost. She continued to be our guiding light.

Jasper was our calming jester. His silent moods and his manipulation of emotions helped us all. Even if it hurt him to be around all of us when we were freaking out he endured it. He loved all of us and I loved him for it. Jasper kept us all grounded as we were lifted from the ground. He was our emotions and our will.

Rosalie is a character. There is not much else to say about her. Although she had skin as hard as stone and a personality to match, there is love deep down inside. She always acted as though she didn't care but in reality she loved us more than we loved ourselves. Her beauty and grace is just one part of her that none of us ever get used to. She was the hard skin of our family that nobody could get through.

Emmett is a bear. Although he is big and tough he is just a big goof. There is so much about him that intrigues us all from his overbearing personality to his rough exterior. The fun of our family was Emmett. There was nothing that he did that made any of us mad except for maybe when he acted too much like a child, even more so than Renesmee. He is our inner-child that kept us sane.

Edward was my entire life. Every single part of my body was him. If he weren't around I wouldn't be able to breathe. He lets everybody know what is on his mind because he has the ability to read theirs. He doesn't let any member of our family feel out of place. Everything about him is just so spectacular and the way that he carries himself only makes us walk taller. He is the lungs of our family.

Renesmee is the center of attention when it came to our family. Everybody loves her as if she was their own child. She has a little bit of all of us in her and she is the epitome of our family. She has Alice's fashion sense, Rosalie's mechanics, Emmett's competitiveness, Jasper's emotions, Edward's talents and my quiet strength. She had this silent power about her that when she walked into a room everybody noticed. Although she didn't have much physical presence there was just something about her personality that made people take notice of her.

I couldn't bare the thought of losing any of my family. Each one of us is a key member to the family and we all play certain roles. I never thought highly of myself but after our last battle with the Volturi I began to feel better about myself. I was able to protect my entire family and not have them fight at all. I loved that I was able to use my powers to protect me because they had spent so long trying to protect me and keep me safe. I was the mind of the family I guess I could say. It's not just that I was the brains of the operation, which I wasn't, but it played to my strengths and my power.

I went through my family over and over again in my head. I thought about what it would mean if one of us were not alive. What would it be like to not have someone in our family? Every one of us made up a vital part of our internal structure. With one of us gone I didn't know how any of us would function.

As the sun rose over the horizon I knew that it was time to go back to reality. It's not a reality that we wanted to face because for all of the trouble with the Volturi what if we did succeed? Would we become the new Volturi, overlooking the vampire world? What would become of Ross and Annie? It was hard to tell if we could ever get Josh back because we didn't know what happened to him. Was he dead or changed? Would he really fight against us if he had indeed joined the Volturi? I hated the fact that Ann kept blaming herself for this. She felt like it was her fault he was gone. She felt like everything that happened in the past week was her fault. I had overheard her talking to Alex and I could tell that she was torn up about it. I had never seen anybody beat themselves up to that extent. I wanted to walk in the room and yell at her, telling her it wasn't her fault that her parents passed away. I wanted her to realize that when it is time for somebody to go they were taken away. It was something that none of us could change.

Although we are immortal and can live for as long as possible it is not up to us to save every single person in our lives. If I could have saved my father I would have but he died doing what he loved. Being a cop was his entire life and if he were going to die for any reason it would be protecting the town that he loved. Forks was his entire life and he loved every single person in the town. It was easy for him to become what he did because he always wanted to be a cop. He died as the chief of police and it was as far as he could go without leaving his life behind. He loved what he did and he loved to protect people.

It's definitely sad that the people that we love were gone but it wasn't the end of the world. Maybe I needed to look at it that way when it came to the battle. It would be hard to protect every person of the family and you can't always do everything to save them. Sometimes it was just their time to go.

The ride home seemed to take forever because nobody wanted to talk. We didn't want to discuss what had happened, especially in front of Annie, and partly because we were all scared. Ross understood what was going on but only to an extent. I felt bad that he would be left by himself while we were in battle but there is no way that we could let him go with us. He would be left behind to worry the entire time we were gone with no way of getting in contact with us. I guess we could look forward to Christmas for Annie but after that it was going to be nothing but work.

When we got home and Annie was taking a nap everybody moved into the living room. We really did need to get a bigger meeting area because even in our spacious house it seemed like we were on top of each other. Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, Renesmee, Aedan, Camden, Nahuel, Makeeda, Naira, Adisa, Huilen, Ann, Carrie, John, Alex, Ross and I were waiting in silence in the living room. None of us wanted to say anything because I don't think anybody knew what to say. All of our eyes focused on Carlisle. He should have known what we needed to do.

"Alright," he started. "I know that none of us want to deal with this but we have to. I have been working all week, with some help," he said looking over to Alice. "To call all of the friends that I could. Everyone that agreed earlier to help us are on the way here. It will be difficult for us all but we need to work together as a team. We have 5 days before we leave and in that time we need to strategize. Everything that we have been working for the past few months will need to be put together. We need to protect ourselves first and foremost. If you can help out the ones that are beside you. It's something that we need to do as a family. We are all strong together but if we go in there without some type of strategy then we are going to have issues. We need to have a united front against the Volturi. They have all been battling side by side for centuries and we have to be prepared. We should start right away so why don't we meet in the backyard in 5 minutes to get started."

Everybody looked at each other without saying a word before heading off in their separate directions. There was so much tension in the room that it could be cut with a knife. It was at times like this where I was glad that I was not Jasper. The inside of his body must be going insane with so many mixed emotions. I always felt the worst for him because he had to deal with every motion of every person in the room. I walked up the stairs to mine and Edward's room and got changed into more comfortable clothes for practice. We didn't say one word to each other, which wasn't like us, as we dressed and walked down the stairs and into the back yard.

* * *

**Ross' Point of View**

I understood why everybody was freaking out but so was I. At least all of these people had powers to protect themselves but I was just some worthless human that was taking up space. I had never felt like this before but around all of these people I feel like a piece of crap. I love this family like they were my own but I couldn't help but feel out of place. I hated the fact that I couldn't do anything to help myself but look on and watch. I sat out on the back deck and watched as everybody reemerged from the house. It was fascinating to me that none of them held back around me. They moved with such speed I couldn't really understand it. And none of them seemed to be cold as it started to lightly snow. Thankfully they had given me more than enough warm clothing to be able to sit outside and watch.

I watched Renesmee walk out of the house and although she was dressed in sweatpants she was still so adorable to me. She smiled as we made eye contact with each other before coming over to kiss me. As I watched her join the rest of the family I couldn't believe that I had ever left her. She was everything to me and I couldn't describe it in any other way.

Sitting up on the deck and watching my family go at each other was nerve wracking. I knew that they weren't intentionally trying to hurt each other but at the same time accidents could happen. My brothers and I used to wrestle all the time when we were younger just for fun and one time Steve ended up breaking his arm. I just didn't want anybody to get injured because they were going at it pretty hard. They moved with so much speed that I really couldn't keep track of who was who. Every time that they collided with each other I held my breath to make sure that they were okay.

Renesmee scared me half to death as she stood in front of Emmett. From what I gathered they were rotating opponents every few minutes but Emmett was the first guy that she had to go up against. I didn't care if they were just playing around it was completely unfair. I didn't want to watch as they moved in a circle looking at each other. There just seemed to be something in their eyes that scared me. All of a sudden Emmett stopped and was holding the side of his head.

"Damn it Nessie," he yelled. "What the hell was that?"

"A rock," she stated slyly trying to hold back her laugh. "Now would you stop messing around? We only have so much time."

"That power of yours is so unfair," he said still rubbing his head. "And powerful."

She laughed before they started circling each other again. Only Nessie could upset Emmett like that. It was definitely something she would do just to upset him. However it didn't take much to upset Emmett. Everything in the world could get Emmett going and that was part of the reason he was so much fun. It was just so easy to make fun of him.

I tried to keep myself occupied, trying not to think of the massive guy standing in front of Nessie. Although Emmett was a fun guy he could be scary. He is the most intimidating of the Cullens and the strongest. I've heard about when he gets angry and losses his temper, which can be often, and I didn't want her on the other end of that. Although Nessie thought she was untouchable, she was still fragile. She was the woman that I loved and everything about her was still breakable to me.

"So are you having fun," Bella asked sitting down next to me. I hadn't even seen her coming and I jumped a little bit. "You still aren't used to this are you?"

"Not really," I admitted. "I'm still having a hard time believing that you are her mom."

"I understand that you are upset by that."

"I'm not really upset by it; just trying to adjust to it is more like it. Everything about your family fascinates me in every way. I'm just happy that you let me into your family."

"Ross I have to tell you from the moment that Nessie expressed interest in you I knew that you would be accepted into our family. With Edward keeping tabs on you and just the way that you acted around her we knew that you were different. The whole family did. It was the same way with me. They knew that I would be part of their family just because they knew I was strong enough to deal with everything that they deal with. We all think the same thing of you. You are strong enough to be in this family and deal with everything that we go through. You've already proved that. Just because you weren't nosy trying to figure out exactly what we are doesn't mean that you don't love us just the same. It is hard knowing how old everybody is but you are taking it well. I'm sure that it surprises you sometimes when there is something like this going on."

"I'm still adjusting to it but I'm doing okay with it. When we are all just sitting around and talking I feel fine with everybody because I don't think about what you guys really are. But when I sit here and watch you guys do this kind of stuff is when I realize it."

"Bella," Emmett yelled. "Get your little butt down here now," he yelled pointing to the ground next to him.

"Looks like I'm in trouble," she stated getting up off of the chair before running back over to her family.

I wished that I could do something to help all of them. I hated just sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else do something. I wanted to be one of them. I knew it was something weird to want to be immortal as a vampire but if it meant that Renesmee and I could be together and be equals then I would do it. I would do anything for her even though we hadn't known each other very long.

Edward scared me when he was suddenly sitting beside me. I was really starting to get annoyed that all of them could scare me so easily. Maybe I wanted them to go back to not showing off in front of me.

"That's not going to happen," he stated answering my thoughts. Damn I forgot he could do that. Did he just hear everything I was thinking? "Yes I did and that's why I came over here. Do you want to talk about all of that? It seems like you have extreme feelings for my daughter."

"I do sir," I said thinking I was talking to some scary father. "It's nothing like I've ever felt before. Do you understand what it's like to know the moment that you see somebody that you want to be with them forever?"

"I thought that the first time I saw Bella. Everything about her fascinated me. I just want to make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into. I don't think we have really told you how much this will change your life. I think that Bella would be somebody good to talk to about changing into a vampire because she chose this life. I just want you to know that it will be a while before we all agree that you will be changed. It really is a family decision when this sort of thing happens. Bella actually put it to a vote."

"Really," I asked confused. I thought that the family had accepted her just because she seemed to fit in with them so flawlessly. I never thought that anybody would vote against her.

"Yes. She wanted me to stop being stubborn and let the family decide. And well, you know how that turned out. But you have to understand that it does take a while and the process is very painful."

"But how are you changed into a vampire?"

"You need to wait to learn that. I know that it's a pain to wait but we don't want you to be getting any crazy ideas."

"Alright," I stated dumbly. I didn't know what else to say. This better be good when I finally get to learn how it all happens. But then I remembered that there were other vampires coming to the house. Now I was going to start freaking out.

"Don't worry," Edward said reassuringly. "Our friends are very understanding when it comes to humans around our family. They are able to resist if they must and I will be keeping tabs on their thoughts and Jasper will keep tabs on their emotions. It will be very easy for us to stop anything that may happen, even though it is highly unlikely."

"And you can stop all of them if I start bleeding?"

"Maybe you should be careful," he said jokingly. Oh that was reassuring. I didn't even know what to think anymore? Should I be gone by the time that they get here? Should I keep my distance? When were they all coming anyway? "I don't think that you need to leave but keep your distance while you can. We are going to need you to keep Annie away from all of the fighting. It's the last thing that we need is her seeing all of this. I think that it's a bad idea to have a child here anyways but Annie is special I guess. Our friends will all be here by sunset tomorrow. Does that answer all of your questions?"

"Yes but I have just one more. When will you guys be leaving?"

"In 2 days. We have a lot of work to get done and I think that maybe you could fend for yourself while we are gone. Look after the house and cook and stuff for yourself. I think that you'll be able to handle that."

"And Annie?"

"Will be in your care. If you need any help we are going to see if one of our friends from Washington can stay here with you in case you get overwhelmed."

"Well this certainly isn't what I was planning to do on my Christmas vacation."

"Maybe next year we can do something fun. You haven't seen anything until you see us all snowboarding."

"I guess that would be fun. Why don't you go back and I will try to keep my thoughts to myself?"

"It's not possible to do that but I will just focus on my opponent instead. It makes my life a lot easier to hear what my opponent is planning on doing to me. It gives me the upper hand."

"It's not fair but I guess that nothing around this house is ever fair."

"Now you are starting to understand," he said getting up and putting his hand on my shoulder. He then bent down to my level. "And you and Nessie better not try anything funny tonight."

"What do you mean," I asked in a whisper.

He followed my lead by whispering "I heard about you two at Ann's brother's house and I would find it unfair to take that away from you. You have two days with her before we leave and I want you guys to enjoy every minute of it that you can."

He was off to the rest of the family before I could even blink. If he was saying these types of things to me was something bad going to happen to her? Now I had even more to worry about but at least tonight I could be happy when we were lying by ourselves in bed. Bella must have talked to him.

**

* * *

**

Renesmee's Point of View

That shower was probably the best one of my life. Practice today was just killing me. I worked so hard but I felt like I didn't get anything accomplished. Everybody had kept Ross occupied after we were finished practicing so I could go hunting with my mom and dad. We would need to go again before we left and probably when we got to Italy but I needed some more energy. I felt like I was completely drained and human food just wouldn't satisfy everything.

Ross had done surprisingly well today. He sat up on the deck most of the time just watching us, trying to figure out who was who and what was going on. It must be hard for him to have to deal with all of this but it seemed like he was going along fairly well.

My parents had a talk with me while we were hunting about Ross and I staying in my room together. I almost jumped up and down with enthusiasm but tried to keep my cool. It was one of the best nights of sleep that I ever had because I had his warm yet cool body laying next to me. It wasn't as hot as sleeping next to Jacob or as cold as sleeping next to my mom but it was just right just like Little Red Riding Hood. Everything about it was just perfect.

But I also talked to them about things that I didn't want to talk about. They wanted me to call Jake and although I knew I would have to be the one to call him for help I was not looking forward to it. All throughout my shower all I could think about was what I was going to say to him. I didn't know whether I should apologize or just forget that it ever happened. I didn't know if he was sorry or he ever would be but I guessed that I could thank him for talking to Ross about everything. I guess it was good that Jake decided to Ross because it gave Ross an outside perspective about everything.

After my shower and getting dressed for bed I sat down at the top of my bed and crossed my legs in front of me. I took my cell phone off of my bedside table and fiddled with it for a few minutes. I guess that I was just trying to actually get up the courage to actually call Jake. It took a little bit of time but I decided that I just needed to get it over with. I dialed the number and it rang twice before I heard his voice on the other line.

"Nessie," he asked excited but also hesitantly.

"Hi Jake," I replied stupidly.

"I'm so sorry for everything that happened. I don't know what came over me but I just couldn't control my temper. It wasn't something that I had been prepared to see you know and I just let my body take control without even thinking. I'm so sorry that I did all of that to you."

"Jake," I said trying to interrupt him before he went any further. He was talking a mile a minute and I just wanted to get my two cents in. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I had to tell Ross everything eventually and I guess that it was as good a time as any. I just want to apologize to you also if I did anything to upset you."

"You really shouldn't be the one apologizing. You grew up and now you have a boyfriend. It is just taking a little bit of time for me to adjust to that to be honest. However as the days go by it is beginning to get easier and easier."

"Thank you for talking to him too. He told me that it really helped with everything."

"You're welcome I guess. It's the only thing that I could do to try and help the situation. I feel like I needed to. Ross is who makes you happy and if that is that case then I am happy for you."

"How is Leah? Is she doing okay?"

"She was a little bit pissed at first to be honest but I think that she is okay. Everything with her is going good because we finally got to the point where we are sleeping in the same bed again. We are just trying to work on our marriage."

"And it's going okay?"

"Yes very much so Nessie. Is this the only reason why you called?"

"No I kind of need to tell you something else. I hope that this isn't a bad time."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Well remember a long time ago when you said that you would help us out with the Volturi if we ever needed it."

"Yes."

"Well the time has come. We are leaving for Italy the day after tomorrow. And if you don't want to do it or the pack just isn't into it then its fine. It would be nice though to have you guys there again. I understand that the last time you were probably just helping us to protect your tribe but now that your tribe isn't in danger you're not obligated to help us."

"Are you kidding me," he asked sarcastically. "You guys are like a tribe to me. We might be a messed up tribe but my tribe is in danger. Leah will come and Seth too. I will see who else will join us. Don't worry Nessie we will be there within the next 24 hours."

"Can you ask Sue to come up too? We need her to stay at the house."

"I believe that could be arranged. But why?"

"We will fill you in when you get here. Anyways I think you still have a credit card we gave you."

"You never gave me a credit card."

"It is underneath the lamp in your room at Billy's house."

"How on earth," he asked trying to grasp the concept of it.

"Just use it to buy your plane tickets and stuff. You are helping us out so the least we could do is pay your way here and back."

"You guys are one of a kind," he muttered with a little bit of a chuckle. "I guess I will see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow it is. Thank you Jacob."

"You're welcome and thank you to. Sleep night Nessie."

"I will and you too."

I hung up the phone with a smile on my face as I placed the cell phone next to my bed. I then pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I was panicking about everything that was going to happen in a few days and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I knew that I would be a little bit of help with my new powers but it was still something that I wasn't looking forward to. I think that only one that was looking forward to it was Emmett but I think that he was even having some reservations about the whole thing.

"Are you decent," I heard Ross yell from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah come on down."

I heard him walk down the stairs and he was so cute in his red flannel pajama pants and black shirt. I was thankful that he liked one of the things I got him for Christmas. However all of our presents were going to be open in the morning. My parents really did try to make everything special for me even if it was a few days late.

"You look comfy," he stated sitting down next to me on the bed. "Are you feeling okay now?"

"I feel a lot better."

"You were out hunting weren't you," he asked not making any eye contact with me.

"Yes we were but I was hoping that you wouldn't figure it out."

"Do you really think that I'm that unobservant?"

"No not really. I just didn't want you to know."

"Why not," he asked. "It's part of who you are and you shouldn't be ashamed of that at all."

"Do you mean that," I asked looking towards him. He raised his head and looked at me dead in the yes.

"None of that stuff matters to me. You know that I love you no matter what you choose to eat or who you are. It's part of your nature and as long as you don't drink my blood then we are going to be okay."

"Trust me there is no chance that will ever happen. I love you too much to ever do something like that to you. I just couldn't live with myself if I let anything happen to you."

He smiled at me and I smiled back. We probably had the dorkiest looks on our faces but I didn't care. I leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. I could never ever get sick of doing that with him. I was content with just being able to kiss him and lie together on my bed for the rest of eternity.

"So did my parents talk to you," I asked as we lay down on our sides.

"Yes they did and Edward basically told me if I tried anything he would have my head on a silver platter."

"Well it's a good thing that you won't try anything. I still do have my morals even though I'm part vampire."

"I know that and I have mine as well. It's called being human." We laughed a little bit before getting comfortable in my bed. "So did you end up calling Jake?"

"Yeah I did. Everything is fine with us and he and his pack will be here tomorrow. Also Sue is coming down and she is going to help you with Annie while we are gone."

"I wish that I could come with you."

"Part of me wishes that to but I think that it would do more harm than good. I don't want the Volturi to have any more reason to hurt us and I don't think that I would be able to stand it if something were to happen to you."

"Then I will stay at home and man the house. I guess that would be the correct term."

"Are you going to be okay," I asked him. "I know that it won't be easy for you to be here and not know what's going on."

"I will be thinking about it the entire time that you are gone but there really isn't anything that I can do to prevent it. If there was anything that I could do to make sure that you were safe I would do it. I would be selfish and ask you not to go but I know that it would kill you to be away from your family. I know how much of an asset they are to you and I know that you don't want to be separated from them at a time like this."

"I also don't want to be away from you."

"I've made the decision and so have you and you are going to go with your family because that's where you are going to be the greatest asset. I just don't want to be by myself but now that Sue is coming I guess that everything is going to be okay. I've never been that great with kids."

"Well it's a good thing that Annie is an easy kid to take care of. Imagine if she was more like Ann, it would be horrible."

"Yeah that it kind of scary. I just hope that everything will go okay in a few days."

"Everything will be fine. We have been preparing for this for a while now and we have the odds on our side. Alice is trying to see if there is anything that we need to be worried about but so far there is nothing. I think that they have found a way to block her because she can't even figure out where Josh is and if he is okay. It is going to take a lot for us to restrain Ann because if she finds out that something happened to him there is going to be no stopping her."

"Well let's hope that everything is okay."

"I'll be back, I just need to say goodnight to my parents."

"Not a problem," he said as I got up off the bed and put on my pink fuzzy slippers. I knew that they looked corny but they were the best thing I had ever gotten. "I do love those things you know," Ross stated as I started walking away. "That I think is the moment that I fell in love with you."

"You fell in love with me because of my slippers."

"Not because of them but it helped a little bit. You felt comfortable enough around me to look absolutely ridiculous and I loved that instantly about you."

"I'll be back," I stated heading up the stairs with a smile on my face. When I opened the door to the living room my family was stuffing presents under the tree. Well by this point the presents were being stacked next to the tree and there were still plenty more.

"Don't you think you guys went a little bit overboard," I asked sitting next to my mom on the couch and snuggling into her chest.

"I think they wanted it to be Annie's best Christmas ever. She is going through a lot right now and we want it to be special. Plus everybody's presents are under there. We have a lot more family members than we did last year."

"Yeah I think 11 more in one year is a little bit of overkill but whatever."

"What can I say? We all just have big hearts."

"I know that. I just wanted to say goodnight and I love you."

"I love you too sweetie. Your dad is in the kitchen if you want to say goodnight to him."

"I will," I said as she kissed my forehead and I got off the couch. My dad was sitting on the counter in the kitchen talking to Emmett.

"I just wanted to say goodnight Daddy."

"I know come here," he stated grabbing me and pulling me into a hug. "I love you Nessie."

"I love you too."

"And just to let you know I will be listening."

"Nothing is going to happen. Do you really think that we would be that stupid?"

"No but you never know."

"Okay and thank you for letting him stay with me. I really do appreciate it."

"I know but you should get some sleep. Alice will probably be jumping on your bed pretty early."

"Of course she will," I said before he kissed the top of my head. I gave Emmett a quick hug before walking through the living room and downstairs to my bedroom. I turned the lights off and crawled in under the blankets with Ross.

"Tomorrow will be eventful," I stated bluntly.

"I can understand why."

"And don't think that you got out of getting presents. I think they bought the entire mall up there."

"That I am not looking forward to."

I giggled a little bit before finding his face and kissing his lips ever so slightly. "I love you," I whispered inches from his face.

"I love you too," he whispered before kissing me lightly. "Sleep tight." He kissed me again and before I could even think about the day I was out like a light.

* * *

**A/N: So we are starting to get towards the battle, yippee.**

**Do you want me to go into detail of Christmas or just mention it and move on?**

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**~Sabrina~**


	32. Christmas

**A/N: Thanks for bearing with me and to all of the people that have reviewed thank you so much. I appreciate every review that I get, even if I don't respond to all of them. **

**I'm keeping it short, just like the chapter.**

**Here is chapter 30, enjoy...**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

"Get up would you," I heard Alice yell for the millionth time. I had been perfectly content laying there with Ross all day and I didn't care about all the presents that were under the tree. It wasn't even Christmas anymore. There was no need for it except for Alice's excuse to shop more. I hated the little pixie so much at this moment. I felt her jumping on my bed and it took every ounce of restraint that I had in me to not knock her feet out from under her. She would never see it coming but she probably wouldn't fall, which wouldn't make it as much fun. I did it anyways and I heard her light feet hit the floor. "Are you seriously trying to knock me over?"

I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was wearing these ridiculous reindeer pajama pants and a matching red shirt. Normally she would never be caught dead wearing that but at my first Christmas I made her promise to wear them every single year for the rest of eternity. And surprisingly she agreed and had kept up her end of the bargain. However the stance that she was in just put the icing on the cake. Her hand was on her hip and she was tilting her head looking at me while her foot tapped the floor impatiently. I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"You put me in this stupid outfit now you need to get up and put on yours. You too Ross. Your pair of pants is in the bathroom. You two get up because the little monster known as Annie is chomping at the bits up there."

"Fine," I grunted throwing my legs out of bed. I put my slippers on and shuffled to the bathroom to get changed. I looked like a mess but there was nothing I could do about it. I pulled my pajama pants on, nice fuzzy red ones with Santa Claus on them, and walked back into my room. Ross was standing next to the bed stretching.

"I don't think I will ever need a heater again," he stated sarcastically. "I think I sweat off 20 pounds last night."

"I'm sorry baby," I said wrapping my arms around him. "Next time we'll turn the air conditioning on."I heard my mom and dad laugh upstairs and Alice was still yelling at us. "I think you should get changed and do it fast. Otherwise Alice will come and carry you upstairs." He laughed at me almost instantly. "I'm not kidding," I told him seriously. He kissed my forehead and ran into the bathroom. He was out in less than a minute.

"Let's go," he said. "I'm excited for you to see what I got you."

"How did you afford to do that?"

"With one of the credit cards they managed to slip into my car. I think there were two in my wallet and at least 5 in my car. They probably thought I would try to get rid of them. Persistent little pixie she is."

"That she is. Come on," I stated grabbing his hand. He smiled at me as I dragged him up the stairs and into the living room. My family was all sitting around the Christmas tree, everybody in their Christmas related pajamas. Even Ann, Alex, John, Carrie, Nahuel and his family were in the stupid pajamas. I think that they looked absolutely ridiculous but it was one of the only traditions that we had. It was the one time of the year where Alice didn't dictate what everybody was wearing.

I sat down next to my mom at the bottom of the tree. Annie sat jumping up and down on Ann's lap excited to get everything started. Esme had been working on her room the entire night. She had a room at Ann's house but she was going to have Ross' room here now that Ross was staying with me. It made me excited that they couldn't go back on their word now that the guest room was made up for a 4 year old little girl. Pink and frilly, just the kind of room Esme had always wanted to do.

I looked around the living room and I got sad. I didn't know if this was the last time that I would be able to have all of my family together with me, all happy and excited. I didn't want this to be the last Christmas that I would have with them. I needed more time with my family and I needed more time with Ross. We needed to make it to our first year anniversary and be able to have a life together. I looked over to him and he knew what I was thinking about, squeezing my hand to have me calm down.

I pushed all of the horrible thoughts to the back of my head. I didn't want to ruin this for anybody. I wanted to be happy in this moment. I watched everybody as they watched Annie tearing through the wrapping paper. All of us took our time watching her because this was all for her. If it was up to me this year I would throw the gift at someone and have them open it up later. Most of the gifts underneath the tree were for Annie anyways. I remembered that I had gotten her a little stuffed monkey. If I was younger I would have loved it and she held onto most of the time.

My dad, of course, was a romantic. Why did they have to be so sickly in love with each other all of the time? He had gotten my mom a dozen roses that were preserved in 24kt pure gold and each of the roses had a message on it. I only listened to a few of them because it was really romantic for a while. "If I could dream at all, it would be you," was my favorite message on it because it was something that had described them years ago. "Would you please stop trying to take your clothes off," was one that I wish I could forget. "Bella you have never been merely pretty." "So you seduced your all-too-willing husband. That's not a capital offense." And when it got to the "I bit a pillow. Or two," I decided to stop listening to that. I remember them telling me about their honeymoon, in bits and pieces, and my dad destroyed pillows and a headboard trying to keep control of his thirst. They had told me so that I wouldn't underestimate that.

After everybody got sick of listening to them they focused to the gifts that I had gotten Emmett. Alice started laughing immediately which made me chuckle. I got him an unbreakable Rubik's Cube. I figured that would keep him entertained for a little while and it would make us laugh seeing him trying to not chuck it at a wall.

Emmett had decided to get my dad a book, like he needed anymore of those. I swear between my parents' room and Carlisle's study we had more books than a library. "How to stay humble when you're smarter than everybody else," my dad read out loud. "Emmett you are seriously a child," he said with a chuckle. "I can't believe you even bought this."

"Well you really are smarter than everybody else, well except for Carlisle, but you will never beat him out when it comes to intelligence. But he carries it off better than you do."

"What do you mean," Edward asked with a little bit of a growl.

"I mean that you show off way too much when you don't need to. You need to learn to be humble and that's why I got you the book."

"And you already have way too much stuff which is why I didn't get you anything."

"We did though," my mom interrupted. "It's upstairs in the music room. We got you a gigantic bean bag chair so that you can play your video games. It's about the size of the couch you're sitting on."

He looked down the couch and the size of loveseat amazed him. "It's really this big," he asked.

"Yes and you have to wait to use it until we are done here," Esme interjected. "We aren't done here."

"Okay," he said with a little bit of a pout. I laughed at him and turned to Ross. He was holding a little box in his hands. I looked at him and then down at the box. It was the size of a ring.

"It's not what you think," my dad said. I let a breath out that I didn't realize I was holding in. Not that I didn't love Ross but I wasn't going to be getting married for a little while. I wanted to wait until I was at least out of high school. Ross laughed a little bit and handed me the box.

"Go on and open it," he stated eagerly. I unwrapped the snow flake wrapping paper and there was a little velvet box. I opened it and saw a beautiful ring. It looked like shooting stars on a ring. 4 separate hearts where intricate on a 4-prong setting. It had little diamonds on the hearts in a white gold. It was so beautiful that I started crying. "It's a promise ring," he stated in my ear. I took out of the velvet box and put it on my left ring finger. It fit perfectly. "It's a 10 karat band and a 1/6 karat diamond, whatever that means. The woman that sold it to me said it would be perfect."

"Perfect doesn't describe it," I mumbled through my tears. I couldn't stop smiling as I looked up to him. I looked into his eyes and I knew that I could promise to love him. I could promise a lot of things to him. Everything about him was just perfect. I couldn't believe that he got me a ring. It was like nothing that I had ever gotten before. Maybe it was because of the person who was giving me the gift. That's what made it so special.

"So you like it," he asked.

"I love it," I answered with a kiss.

Emmett threw a pillow at us and I realized that everybody was staring at us. I had been complaining about my parents being romantics but we were just as bad. I had gotten Ross a set of dog tags on a white gold chain. One of the dog tags was a bunch of little diamonds and the other was white gold with an engraving on it. "I just want you close, where you can stay forever. You can be sure that it will only get better… -Love Renesmee." I wanted to get him something that he would like and possibly wear. I didn't even know what to get a boyfriend. Guys had it so easy because they could just buy flowers or a teddy bear or a piece of jewelry and everything would be okay. But then the girls had so many other things to consider. I decided on it last minute and it's what I decided to get him. He held up my present, dangling it up in the air and smiled towards me.

"I love it," he said giving me a kiss. "I really do," he stated putting it on over his head. I smiled to myself and there was no way that I went wrong with his gift.

Esme's reaction to her gift from the family was about the funniest thing that I had ever seen. Alice came up with the idea that we give her a family tree with pictures of all of her kids. It was absolutely amazing with her and Carlisle at the top. Bella and Edward were the next with me next to them. After them were Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett. At the bottom was a picture of Ann, Carrie, Alex and John along with Aedan, Camden and Ross. Esme looked like she had taken in all of these kids but I knew that she would crying if she could. It was the perfect gift for Esme.

Emmett got Alice a high heel shoe doorstopper in a bright red color. It was a funny gift for Alice that had fit her so well. And he got my dad a reindeer costume for his car. We all knew how obsessive my dad was about his car and getting him an outfit for it made everybody laugh. Rosalie got a necklace from Emmett that was two hearts. One of the hearts was just an outline with diamonds surrounding it and the other heart was white gold with Rose engraved into it.

Ross got a huge map of the United States made out of license plates. It was a huge piece of art that was extremely heavy. It was cool though, in a way. I didn't know where he was going to put it considering he didn't have a room anymore. I was assuming that Esme had gotten it for him when he had his own room.

I got a few other cute little things. One was a piano music box that played all my favorite Beethoven songs when it was opened. My parents had gotten me a snow globe with an angel inside of it. "May you always have your wings. Love mom and dad," was engraved on the base of the snow globe. I also got a really cool picture holder that said 'Friends and Family' and the pictures were somehow held up by the lettering.

Carlisle's gift had to be the most surprising gift of all, besides Ross'. He had given Ross and me a trip to go snowboarding in Beaver Creek, Colorado for just the two of us. We were going to be staying at the Beaver Creek Lodge with a room overlooking the valley in the King Suite. I saw the pictures on the cover of a brochure and it was breathtaking. I couldn't believe that Carlisle would do this for us.

"When are we going," I asked excitedly after hugging and thanking him immensely.

"On February vacation," he stated. "I think that will be okay because you won't miss school that way. You guys have missed too much school as it is. Teachers will be wondering how you are keeping your grades up."

"Grandpa," I said with my hands on my hips. "It's Christmas; can we not talk about school right now?"

"Fine but you are all going back when we get home."

From the way that he made it sound it seemed like we were just going on a little bit of a vacation. It was nothing for them to worry about. It wasn't like we were going to Italy to face our worst nightmare or anything. I knew that this was not the winter vacation that I was looking forward to and it was going to end with a big bang. Neither fighting the Volturi nor going back to school were making me happy at this moment.

We watched on as the rest of my family got their gifts from each other. Ross bought everybody books besides me and I thought that it was a great idea. It was something that was understated but meant so much to everybody. He was extremely considerate.

I had been wondering all night and morning what Ross was going to do when everybody showed up. I knew that it was easy for all of us to resist his blood but I didn't know how the other vampires would react. Jacob had been different the last time that vampires had invaded our home because he smelled horrible to all of them. But to me he smelled perfectly fine.

When our presents were all open we all went our separate ways to get changed for the day. I put on a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers. I threw on a sweatshirt just in case it started snowing, which according to Alice, it would. Ross had decided to stay inside today instead of watching us practice.

"I talked to your mom," he said to me when I came out of the bathroom. "She told me that it probably wasn't a good idea to be in the range of vampires who were fighting. She said their instincts may take over and they would come to attack me so I'm going to stay in and put all of my stuff away. Maybe I could even do some redecorating."

"Don't change too much," I stated sitting on his lap on my bed, our bed.

"Well it is partially my room now and I find it to be a little too frilly for my taste. And we got all of those gifts and I think that we need to reorganize a few things."

"Just don't touch my closet," I laughed. "I have it perfectly organized."

"But where am I supposed to put my stuff," he pouted.

"There is a little bit of space in there for stuff to hang up and the rest can go in the dressers. I don't even use those."

"Fine. You get to have all your clothes hung up and mine get crumpled up inside of a drawer. I see how well you do with sharing. It must be only child syndrome."

I laughed and nuzzled my head into chest. I wanted to stay there all day and we stayed in that position for a few minutes until I heard the arrivals taking place upstairs. I groaned quietly before kissing the nape of his neck and got up slowly.

"I need to go," I said kissing him quickly. "It's time to be the hostess."

"Have fun."

I looked at him one last time as I made my way up the stairs. I entered the living room to see Jacob's monstrous pack standing there. I wished I would have had Ross come with me. Just as I closed the door, it was opened again and he was standing beside me with his hand encompassing mine. I smiled up at him and gave his hand a squeeze. Jacob noticed instantly and left my mom to come over to us. This was not something I had been thinking about. The last time that we saw each other it did not go over well.

The minute that he stepped in front of us his face softened and a big smile burst across his face.

**Jacob's Point of View**

To say that I was nervous was an understatement. Leah had agreed to drive the monstrosity that was Seth's car. I never saw the point to an SUV until this moment but the damn car was a behemoth. We had left the minute that we heard the Cullens needed help. None of us argued or disagreed; we just packed up and left. Sue was in the backseat sitting next to Seth and Embry and Quil were in the way back bickering over an iPod. I couldn't believe that this is what it all came down to. The five of us wolves and Sue driving to New York to help our once enemies. The last time that I had visited them it hadn't turned up well.

I wanted to make sure that everything with Renesmee was alright. I wanted her to be happy with whoever she chose to be with. It was part of the reason that I had spoken to Ross. As hard as it was for me to let her go, I think it would have been harder for her to not have Ross in her life. If I were to pick somebody else for her Ross would definitely be my choice. He was a great guy for her and he made her feel more human, which was a good thing.

We pulled up their driveway and I didn't want to get out of the car. I didn't think that the family would ever talk to me again after the stunt that I had pulled a few weeks ago. I didn't want that to be the lasting impression I left with them. I got out of the car with Leah's help and we all walked up to the front door and Alice greeted us before we could even get to the door. She seemed bouncier than usual.

"Jacob," she yelled throwing her little body at me. "I've missed you," she stated while hugging me.

"Missed you too Ali," I said wrapping my arms around her and lifting her into the air. "How have you been?"

"Same old same old. Trying to see too many things at once. It's giving me one massive headache."

"Well it's a good thing that I'm here to relieve that headache."

We both chuckled before she went off to greet everybody else. I stepped into the house and shook the doc's hand.

"Hey doc," I said.

"Hello Jacob. How have you been?"

"I'm a lot better now," I stated enthusiastically. "I'm finally going to get my hands on those vampires. I've been dreaming about this day ever since we last saw them."

"Well we have training to do so why don't you say hello to everyone else and we will get started."

"When is everybody else showing up?"

"Throughout the day. It all depends on when their flights get in."

"Jacob," Esme said sweetly coming up from behind Carlisle. "How have you been?"

"I'm good, I'm good. How was your Christmas celebration?"

"Great. The kids are all just so sweet. They got me a family tree."

"It must take up the entire house," I stated with a chuckle.

"It pretty much does," she responded with a laugh of her own.

Bella came down the stairs and took all of my attention. I still could not believe what her transformation into a vampire had done for her. She was absolutely beautiful, even more so then she was before. She glided up to me and looked at me.

"You hurt her you know," she said to me, staring me straight in the eyes.

"I know."

"Do you know how much?"

"A lot and I made a horrible decision. I told you that I couldn't control it. I tried to make things better by talking to Ross. I hope that helped him. I just don't know how everything turned out."

At that moment a door opened and Renesmee stepped out into the living room. She looked at me like she was seeing a ghost. I didn't know what to make of it. She looked like she was upset or confused, I couldn't really tell. She stood there for a moment in shock and then a familiar face was by her side. Ross had gone back to her, just like I thought he would. It looked like he took my advice and got her a promise ring for Christmas. I had thought of it when we were driving to Washington. I approached them with nerves wracking through my body and when I was in front of them. I looked into her eyes and I saw that she was nervous too. I smiled and tried to soften my face to make them both feel more comfortable.

She smiled back and wrapped her arms around my neck. I picked her up, hugging her around her waist and squeezed her. She put her hand on my cheek when we released.

_Thank you Jake for everything. Thanks for bringing Ross back to me and thank you for being here even though it might be killing you. Thank you for being calm and listening to me. Just thank you._

I kissed her forehead and nodded extending my hand to Ross. I knew that she didn't say those things aloud for a reason and there was no need for me to say you're welcome. She understood that without me needing to say anything.

"Nice to see you again Ross," I said stepping back for a moment. "You don't look like you're going anywhere."

"No I'm staying in today and reorganizing some things."

"Don't change too much. She doesn't like change at all."

"I have learned that. Well you guys have fun or whatever it is I'm supposed to say to you."

I laughed at him as he looked around the room and went back downstairs to the basement. He was going to be changing around Nessie's room. It was going to be challenge for him non-the-less.

After talking with everybody for a few minutes we made our way outside to the backyard. All of the Cullens and a few new additions were out there with my pack. I remembered seeing them at Nessie's birthday party and apparently the Cullens decided to adopt a few more teenagers. Nothing could ever stop the Cullens from adding to the gigantic family.

I started off fighting members of my pack in wolf form. It didn't really help that we could all read each other's minds because of the whole the pack shares one mind. It was great when we were in battle with other people but when we were practicing against each other it was annoying. After a while we moved on to fighting the Cullens and the rest of their friends. Our party kept on growing throughout the day.

More and more vampires showed up with every waking moment. Sue and Ross stayed inside of the house. They had made the pack dinner and when it was time for us to take a break we went inside.

"Smells good Sue," I said sitting down at the table with a huge plate of food in front of me.

"Doesn't it always," she stated. Ross was sitting next to me with a little bit of food on his plate and the look on his face was priceless. He had a look on his face that made me think I had two heads.

"You're going to eat all of that," he asked pointing at my plate.

"Of course I am. I'm a big guy and training makes me hungry. Sorry if that makes me a pig."

"It doesn't make you a pig but I'm just a little surprised is all. I have never seen somebody eat so much before."

"Well you don't hang out with wolves very often then."

"I try not to," he laughed. "Let me see what am I going to do today? Oh yeah, hang out with some wolves who eat a lot of food and scare the crap out of me."

I laughed at Ross and started downing my food. I didn't know what it was about Sue's cooking but it was delicious. About halfway through Nessie came in and took a plate of food. She sat down next to Ross while I eyed her suspiciously.

"Since when do you eat like a human," I asked her. My tone didn't come out as nicely as I thought it should have.

"Since I started dating a human who likes to eat. I don't eat very often but this food smelled so good that I had to come in and give it a try."

"I cooked it," Sue stated putting her hand on Nessie's shoulder. "Of course it tastes good. Between Seth and Leah I really needed to know how to cook well."

We all talked and laughed a little while longer until it was time to get back to practicing. I didn't know what to make of everything. The day after tomorrow we would be leaving for Italy. It wasn't like I really wanted to fight these idiots but I wanted to just to be able to protect Nessie and the rest of my family. As many conflicts as I've had with the Cullens they were my family. My pack, my dad, and the Cullens were my family. There was no other way for us to all live peacefully. We were supposed to be mortal enemies but somehow we were all family to each other.

**A/N: I hope that you liked the chapter. It was a little bit shorter than others but at least I got it out.**

**Thank you again for sticking with me. Review if you want. **


	33. Leaving

**A/N: Sorry if I have been in a funk lately but it has nothing to do with any of you guys. I wanted to thank you all for your support.**

**Danielle, you are amazing, thank you so much. **

**And a special thanks to Mommiebird. This chapter is dedicated to you because of what you said to me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the words that you have said.**

**Okay so after the long wait here is chapter 31. Enjoy.**

**Ross' Point of View**

Ever since I found out what Renesmee and her family really were the only thing that I had been hearing about was the Volturi. They were supposed to be the protectors of the  
vampire world but were sometimes looked upon as the enemy. When you do something wrong and they are there to rectify the situation then they would be thought of as the enemy.  
However in the situation that they were in it was easy to understand why the Cullens were so frustrated with them.

They had taken aggressions out on each other and no matter what the reasoning taking innocent peoples' lives was not right. Once they were reined back together again they decided  
that the Cullens must be taken care of so they kidnapped Ann's brother to provoke them. The Cullens had been expecting a fight for a long time but now that the time was creeping up on them the atmosphere seemed to change.

After all of our Christmas celebrations and the welcoming back of old friends it was time for them to get down to business. I tried to keep myself busy by putting away all my things in Nessie's room. Well it was our room now but the girl didn't know how to share. I wedged a few of my nice clothes into her monstrosicity of a closet and the rest of them went into the dresser drawers.

I hung up a few of the art pieces that we had gotten as Christmas gifts and arranged the rest on the tops of the dressers. I tried to arrange them the way that she would have but for some reason nothing was working out. I found the solution by putting a picture of us in a frame in the middle of the dresser. Now it looked perfect and I was hoping that she would like that. It took me the entire day to do that and when I smelled dinner being cooked upstairs I was happy. I didn't know if I was constricted to the basement or if I was allowed to go upstairs. To be honest I was quite afraid of these _other_ friends that the Cullens had invited. Meeting Tanya and her family had been okay but to be honest I was still a little afraid of Aedan and Camden.

Those two were the newest to their lifestyle but they had been doing well from what everybody had been telling me. Neither of them had strayed once from _animal blood._ Oh jeez, what had I gotten myself into? Was I going to be one of them sometime in the future? If I wanted to stay with Nessie I guess that is the road that I would go down. I guess being a vampire and feasting on blood was better than losing her. I had already lost her once and I didn't like the idea of that. If I was forced to be a sleepless immortal then that was the case.

I tried not to think of what my family was going to be going through in less than 24 hours. Nessie would be leaving with 41 other people. Did the Cullens have their own plane or did they just buy out every ticket on the plane? I would think that would be the best answer anyways so that way there were no humans in harm's way. They really should just get their own plane, they could afford it anyways.

I spent the entire night wide awake. Nessie slept soundly in my arms but I wanted to memorize every single piece of her. I memorized her gorgeous face, her plush lips, the color of her amazing bronze hair, her eyelashes, the color of her cheeks and every other little detail that I never wanted to leave my mind. I was so worried about what was going to happen because I didn't want to lose any member of my family. I had lost my mom years ago and my brothers were away at college and my dad could care less about me. I actually felt like I belonged here, next to Nessie and the rest of her family.

That night was the worst of my life so far but that was the thing…so far. I knew that the next few nights without any contact with her were going to be the hardest of my life. Hopefully I would be able to keep myself distracted, possibly school or maybe I would pick up a hobby. I'm sure that little Annie would keep me a little busy. I tried not to think of things that I would be thinking in the next hours when she wasn't safely by my side. I nuzzled her in closer to my chest and she smiled in her sleep. I loved it when she did that, which I realized was quite often during the night.

Every single time that I pulled her closer to me or ran my fingers through her hair or kissed her forehead the edges of her mouth would curve up, kind of like a crooked smile. It must have been something that she got from Edward because I had been noticing he did that too. The rest of them had stayed outside when it was time for the humans or part humans to go to sleep. I heard rustling outside but nothing that was too bad. I wasn't going to sleep anyways.

I didn't want the night to end because I wanted to stay there for the rest of my life, with Nessie sleeping soundly in my arms. I wanted everything to be okay and for all of us to be safe. I didn't realize until this moment that I would be in danger too. If they could go and take Josh away from his home because he knew the secret what would prevent them from doing the same thing to me while they were away?

I figured that they would have all hands on deck for the battle but that meant little to me at all. I was still afraid that something would happen to me but the Cullens would never let anything like that happen. I knew that they had powers on their side, from what I understood. At dinner we all talked about their powers and I realized that maybe we actually had advantage. But that was all just wishful thinking on my part. It was my pipe dream for everything to be okay.

But the thing about pipe dreams was that they didn't always come true. For the most part they were the impossible dream but I didn't want to think of it that way. I had little time left and every moment that I could watch her I would. I needed her to be okay because if she wasn't I didn't know what I would do.

I wanted to marry her, I knew that already. We had only been together for a few months but I knew that I wanted to marry her someday. I would purpose now and whisk her off to Vegas to get married but I knew that wouldn't solve any of the problems that we ahead for the Cullens and their friends. I wanted her to be Mrs. Anderson and she would be someday.

The sun was starting to rise and I could see sunlight coming through the window. How funny was the fact that the weather was the exact opposite of my mood? I wanted there to be thunderstorms and downpours to fit my mood but of course even Mother Nature couldn't grant me one wish. It seemed like that was the only thing that was going to happen, me not getting anything that I wished for.

As Nessie started to stir in her sleep I began to wake up to, to the possibility of things to come. I needed to get my mind off of everything while they were gone. I needed to pick up some kind of hobby where I couldn't think of anything but what I was doing. I needed something to fully distract me.

I kissed Nessie's forehead and she slowly opened her eyes. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I wanted to stay here forever. I wanted everything to be okay and at least the relationship that we had with each other wasn't going to go away.

"Morning," she said groggily.

"Morning baby," I said kissing her on the lips.

"How did you sleep," she stated sitting up against her headboard and running her fingers through her hair.

"Not at all."

"Are you kidding me? Ross you really needed to sleep."

"No you really needed to sleep and I was having a better time watching you sleep."

A blush crept across her cheeks and she was smiling uncontrollably. I loved that I could make her blush like that. I loved her whenever she would let her emotions come across her face but I had been told it was a trait from her mom.

"You watched me sleep the entire night," she stated embarrassed.

"Yes I did. I didn't want to miss one moment with you."

"I love you, do you know that?"

"I love you too Ness. Now you should probably get ready. They have been outside all night."

"Figures," she muttered under her breathe before giving me a quick kiss and heading off to her closet. I sat on the bed and finally felt the effects of a sleepless night. I quickly collected myself and stood up for the first time in what seemed like forever. I stretched out quickly before heading upstairs. I knew Nessie would be up in a minute anyways.

"Wait a minute Ross," I heard Edward yell to me. I stopped dead in my tracks because I was yet. I still had too much to live for as a human. I couldn't make that decision yet.

I heard Edward laugh and then tell me I could come out. I forgot about the whole mind reading thing.

"Hey Edward," I said sitting down on the couch that was pushed up against the wall. I looked down at my hands trying not to make eye contact with him.

"Why don't you want to make eye contact with me," he stated sitting a little too close to me.

"I'm not making eye contact with you because I don't want you to know everything."

"Well that is impossible, mind reading thing," he stated pointing to his head. "I was wondering if you and I could go for a little bit of a drive. There are some things that I want to talk to you about."

"Umm, okay," I hesitated. Now this was going to be awkward.

We left quickly without saying goodbye to anybody. It was strange that he wanted to talk to me alone because we had never done that. I was really hoping that this wasn't some speech about the virtue of his daughter. I never ever wanted to have that conversation with somebody, especially Edward.

We pulled up to the sides of the woods a few miles away from the house. We got out of his BMW and started walking around. The snow on the ground was only about an inch deep but I wished that I couldn't get cold. Maybe I should have lived somewhere that didn't snow.

"If you lived somewhere where it didn't snow then you would never have met Nessie or any of us for that matter."

"You really need to stop answering my thoughts. It kind of creeps me out."

"It creeps a lot of people out but after a few decades you get used to it."

"So why did you want to talk to me so badly?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about what is going on. I want to make sure that you understand what is at stake with the fight that we are going to have."

"I completely understand. I have been dealing with the possibilities of what could happen to you guys, especially to Nessie. She isn't as indestructible as the rest of you."

"This is why I am going to try my hardest to keep her and Bella safe. It seems a little too heroic to protect my wife and daughter but I couldn't imagine my life without either of them. I just wanted to let you know that if something were to happen to me I am sure that Nessie is safe with you. I want you to take care of her."

"You sound like a dead man Edward. Is that really going to happen? Do you think that you will get killed?"

"I'm just trying to come up with every possible outcome. I want to make sure that she is taken care of because Bella and I will try our hardest to make sure that nothing happens to her. I just want her to be safe and I want to make sure that she is taken care of. That is every parent's greatest fear is to have their child left with nothing if something were to happen to them," he stated sadly. I wanted everything to be okay because Edward and Bella were a big part of my life, not only Nessie's. It would be hard for me if something happened to either of them. He ran is fingers through his hair and then continued talking. "We have plenty of accounts set up for you and for her. I want you to know that we all care about you and have welcomed you into our family. You are part of us now and when the time comes for you to make the big decision we will support you. You will do wonderfully in our world."

"So you are giving me permission to become a vampire," I questioned.

"When the time is right," he corrected. "After high school is done with would probably be the best time. That is if you want this life. I had objections when Bella wanted to be part of this world but it turned out for the better. And when you and Nessie decide to take that step in your relationship then we have no problem granting your wishes. She is not fully grown yet but she will be soon. Once you both reach that maturity I want you to come to me. If I am no longer here I give you permission to ask her to marry you, to become a vampire and to take care of her."

"But what about the rest of the family? You can't think that something is going to happen to every one of them?"

"It's hard to guess what will come but I just wanted you to know that we are all here for you. It's your decision to make and I want you to do what makes you happy. I want Nessie to be happy and that means being with you. I just want you to take care of you."

"I promise that I will do everything in my power to make her happy. I want nothing more in this world."

"That's probably a good thing. I just wanted to thank you Ross. I could think of no better person to be my son then you."

I wanted to cry but I knew that wouldn't be the masculine thing to do. I needed to be strong and stay strong for Nessie sake and for my own. I needed to find something to distract me from what was going on.

"You just had a great idea," Edward stated wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me to the car. "I think it would be great for you to do that."

"Do what," I asked.

"Ride a dirt bike. Come on, we'll go get you one right now."

"But what about the snow?"

"It's a thing called snow tires. We'll get one and I'll ride it back to the house."

"Umm okay."

I didn't even remember thinking about my old bike. All I could remember about it was that it kept my mind off of everything else in my life. When my mother died all I did was ride that thing because I didn't think of anything but the trail that was in front of me. When my dad and I moved I left my bike at home because I didn't want it as a reminder. But now that all of this was going on I needed it to distract me. I needed something to do.

When we pulled up to the Yamaha dealer I felt like a little kid at Christmas. Edward and I exited the car and walked through the doors. The heat was welcoming and the place was beautiful. Everything in there was bright and shiny, even the floor tiles. We looked around for a little while at the different makes for dirt bikes. Surprisingly Edward knew a lot about them. He knew the weight distribution and the intake manifolds. I didn't even know that much because my parents had just bought me a used Kawasaki from a buddy of theirs.

It was nice to be able to pick out the bike that I wanted. I sat on a bunch of them trying to get a feel for them. The sales man was extremely nice to us, probably because they didn't get much business in the winter time. I ended up picking out the Yamaha YZ250F. It was a four-stroke bike and big enough to handle me. The weight seemed to balance just right and there were a lot of new features on the bike I could care less about.

After I got the bike Edward suggested that I needed to get all of the gear to go with it. Leave it up to him to get me almost every piece of protective gear that there was. A new helmet, chest protector, boots, goggles, pants and a jersey. I couldn't believe that he was willing to spend this much money to just keep me distracted.

"Are you kidding me? This is nothing. Alice does more damage than this at the mall in 1 hour. Plus if you think about it my car is almost $300,000. Don't worry about this."

"But you already bought me a car. Now I feel selfish."

"Well between this and your car it equals out to be about a third of my car. It's going to be well worth it though. Now come on."

We brought up our things and Edward handed the guy a credit card.

"Your total comes to $10, 277.16."

"That's perfect," Edward stated coolly while I was about to have a heart attack on the ground. Ten thousand dollars! That is absolutely ridiculous.

"Do you need it delivered," the salesman asked handing back the card to Edward.

"No I think we will be okay with taking it today. We've got it all set."

"Well if you need anything please come and visit us again."

"We will do that. Thank you very much."

Edward and I carried out my things and put them in the trunk of the BMW. He went back inside and grabbed the bike. He pushed it out into the woods and threw it over his shoulder.

"Just drive home Ross I will see you there."

"I thought you were driving it home."

"No, it's not registered. Last thing that I need is to be in jail before we are supposed to go to Italy. I will meet you back there okay."

"Thank you," I stated sheepishly.

"You're welcome. I will see you later. It will be in the garage all ready to go."

And with that he took off into the woods with a bike that would have crushed me thrown over his shoulder like it was nothing but a sack of potatoes. I climbed into the car and adjusted the heat and the seat before heading off towards home. I picked up a little bit of breakfast on the way home. I stopped and sat inside, afraid to eat in Edward's car. After I was finished I headed back towards the house.

When I got to the end of the driveway the garage door was open and I pulled his car into the empty spot. Sure enough my bike was there just behind my car. Man this family did way too much for me. I took out all of the gear from the trunk and brought it over to the mechanics garage. Afterwards I went back and got my bike bringing it over to where my gear was. I closed the door and changed in the garage, afraid to go inside. Only a few 100 yards separated me from vampires and I couldn't have been more petrified.

I pulled my pants on over protective padding and then pulled the boots on afterwards, locking them up so they were snug on my legs. I put the jersey on over my long-sleeved white shirt and then the chest protector on top of that. My helmet came next and finally the goggles. I had never had all of this gear when I had ridden. I usually just wore an old jersey with jeans and contractor boots. I did have a helmet but it had been my dad's and they sprung for new goggles. I looked in the mirror and I looked like a professional. Now only if I could remember how to start the damn thing.

I got onto the bike and kick started it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would have been. I didn't even have to do a full kick start to get it going. I put the goggles over my eyes and opened the garage door. Nessie was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest glaring at me. I smiled inside of my helmet and turned the bike off. I put the kickstand down and walked over to her taking my helmet off and placing it on the handle bars of my bike.

"You're riding a motorcycle and didn't even tell me."

"Your dad bought it for me," I said closing my arms around her.

"I was wondering where you guys were going."

"We had to talk about a few things and he figured this would keep my mind off of everything and keep me away from the house while your guests are here. You're not mad are you?"

"Just mad that you didn't invite me to play along."

"When you get back I promise."

"Okay. Well stay safe. Be back here for dark because we need you to drop us off at the airport."

"Fine. I love you," I said giving her a kiss on the lips.

"I love you too." She smiled at me and hit my ass as I walked back to my bike. "You look really sexy do you know that?"

I felt a tingling in my stomach as I smiled up at her before putting my helmet back on. I kick started the bike and rushed out of the garage with Nessie following me with her eyes as I reached the forest.

I didn't know how far I had gone but I decided that it was time for me to head back to the house. I only fell off the bike once, which was great considering I hadn't rode in a few years. I made it back to the house in about an hour. I looked at the speedometer and realized I had gone for 20 miles. Man that left good. I was soaking wet and muddy by the time I made it to the mechanics garage. I turned the bike off and put it on its kickstand. I took my helmet off and placed it on the counter.

I looked up and noticed that there were clean, warm clothes waiting for me. They must have known that I would be cold. I put on the sweatpants and sweatshirt, breathing in deeply of the warmth. I laid my muddy clothes in the corner and put my sneakers back on to walk into the house. I entered the living room and Sue had already put dinner on the table. I ate quickly making a little bit of conversation with Jacob and Seth, who had already inhaled their food. I guess I could get used to eating with people, considering I hadn't been doing much of that lately.

After dinner I headed downstairs to get dressed in regular clothes. I didn't want Nessie last memory of me to be in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I put on a pair of jeans with a button down shirt and brought my winter coat upstairs with me. She was already sitting on the couch with a little duffle bag by her side.

"Did you get to hunt today," I asked sitting next to her. She looked at me surprised. "I just want to make sure that you are strong. It's not so weird for me to ask you that is it," I questioned. She looked at me and smiled.

"Thanks for asking and I ate human food and hunted today. I will hunt again tomorrow when we land in Italy."

"Sounds good to me." I put my arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into my chest. We took a few vehicles to the airport about an hour later. Sue drove the big SUV with the wolves and I drove Aedan's Audi with Nessie in the front and Edward, Bella, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett in the back. I didn't want this to end. I felt like I needed to be with them right now and I didn't want them to leave me. Sue and I parked in the temporary parking while the others parked in long-term parking. I walked hand and hand into the airport with Nessie with the others walking in front of us.

Carlisle got their tickets secured and then handed everybody their tickets. I felt like I was losing my family now. Everybody had a ticket to go to Italy but me. It's not that I wanted to go to Italy to be destroyed by vampires but at least I may be able to die with my family. But they weren't going to die, my family would survive. I looked around at everybody and they looked as scared as I did.

I saw the other vampires for the first time. They didn't look too scary now because they were all scared too. I felt a little bit more at ease but I still had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was going to go wrong. I didn't know what to do but hold Nessie closer to me.

Ann was holding Annie in her arms close to her chest. Annie didn't understand why Ann was leaving and Ann told her that it was to make the people that she loved safe and that she would be back in a few days. Sue was saying goodbye to her children Seth and Leah and Jacob. It was sad to see that exchange go down because Sue had such a big heart.

A few of the vampires that I didn't know and didn't care to know where holding each other close. Aedan was standing by Tanya with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. She looked like she was just happy to be near him. I saw Edward smile out of the corner of my eye. He muttered something about 'Finally, she can stop bothering me now.' I chuckled a little bit and held Nessie closer to me. We hadn't talked since we left the house.

I wanted to get down on one knee right there and ask her to marry me. For her to be mine forever and to not go. I wanted to be selfish. I wanted her to myself. I wanted so badly to hold onto her and not let her go. I looked around and noticed that everybody else had the same look on their faces. None of them wanted to do this but it needed to be done. Nobody wanted to lose their loved one. I wasn't the only one.

Once their plane was being boarded I watched as they all filed on. I got a kiss from Esme, Alice, Rosalie and Bella on the cheek and a pat on the back from Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle. Edward pulled me into a quick hug, squeezing a little bit too hard and then it was time to say goodbye to the one person that I was regretting saying goodbye to.

"I love you so much," she stated throwing her arms around my neck and kissing it. I smiled and hugged her as tightly as I could. I felt a tear on my shoulder and I looked up to see that she was crying.

"I love you more than you will ever know," I stated before she wiped my face. I felt the tear on my face just as she was wiping it off. I didn't want to cry but there was nothing that I could do about it. I needed to cry because I didn't want to let her go.

"Come on Ness," Bella yelled waiting for her daughter.

"Go and be safe. Call me as soon as you can. I love you," I barely finished before kissing her more passionately then I ever had before. Our kiss seemed to last for only a few seconds but then I heard the last call for the flight. I kissed her quickly once more and she reluctantly left my arms, picking up her duffle bag. She walked towards the gates and turned around with tears staining her cheeks and blew me a kiss. I caught it with my hand and put it in my pocket. I saw her smile quickly before she turned her attention back to the person taking her ticket and passport.

"It's going to be okay Rossy," I heard a little voice say. Annie was standing by my side holding my hand. I looked down at her and smiled, sniffling a little bit. I picked her up and held her next to my side. She wiped the tears off of my cheeks and then buried her head in my collarbone.

"You're going to be fine," Sue said putting her arm around my shoulder. "She is out cold."

I looked down and Annie was sound asleep. Sue kept her arm around my shoulder as she led me out to the cars. I put Annie in the backseat and buckled her into the car seat Ann had brought over. Sue gave me a hug and said she would be home tomorrow. She was going to visit some friends in New York. I told her that I would be fine and Annie and I headed off to home.

When we got there I left the car outside and carried Annie into the house and put her in bed. She snuggled up with her blanket as I turned the lights off and shut the door. I walked down the stairs and sighed at the dark empty house that was before me. I walked to the couch and lay down, not bothering to even turn the lights on. I was out cold within seconds of lying down.

**A/N: So there it is. I don't know about you but I wouldn't be able to deal with my love being across the ocean fighting a battle and me not knowing what was going on. Anyways thank you all so much for sticking with me. I was kind of depressed last chapter but I am better now.**

**The links for Ross' dirt bike will be up later on tonight, around 10. Also the Christmas presents are on the profile and I updated the Cullens cars. **

**I now have 453 reviews (amazing) 210 favorites (ridiculous) and 27,814 hits. This story is getting more response then I ever thought possible.**

**Please hit that little green button below and let me know what you think.**

**Please...reviews make me write faster.**

**Thank you so much and now I'm off to work.**

**~Sabrina~**


	34. Battle

**A/N: This didn't take as long as I thought it would and it's all because of the reviews I got.**

**I told you that I write faster when I get reviews and I just wanted to thank you. **

**I am sorry for not responding to them but life as been hectic these past few days. **

**Anyways here is the long anticipated battle.**

**Here is chapter 32, enjoy....**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

"Last call for flight 405 to Sovicille, Italy," the intercom stated. It broke me out of the trance that I was in with Ross. I felt like no time had passed since we had reached the airport and now I had to say goodbye to him, possibly forever. I was having a hard time letting him go, not really comprehending what was going on around me. Ross and I pulled away from possibly the best kiss in the history of the world and I picked up my duffle bag, holding my passport and plane ticket in my hand.

I looked back at him once I reached the gate and blew him a kiss. We both smiled sadly at each other and he put the kiss in his pocket. I saw little Annie grab his hand and handed my ticket and passport to the attendant at the gate.

"Enjoy your flight," she stated to me. I nodded and headed down the long hallway to the plane. I entered and immediately saw my parents. My mom opened her arms to me as I sat down and buckled my seat belt. She immediately wrapped her arms around me, running her fingers through my hair trying to calm me down. I was in such utter shock that I didn't realize I was in hysterics. It bothered me that I couldn't be stronger, that I couldn't be as composed as my family members. Sometimes I wished I was like them so that I wouldn't be a blubbering idiot in public. The flight attendants must have that I was insane.

After we took off I fell into a deep sleep. I didn't realize how long I was out because I missed the entire plane ride. All of the hushed strategizing and what we were going to do I missed out on because I was sleeping. Another reason why I wished I was a full vampire. I wanted to be like my parents, I always had, but there was nothing I could do about it. I grabbed my bag out of the overhead storage and all of us got off together. When we entered the small airport it seemed like everybody there was just mocking me.

There were couples all about holding hands and smiling and laughing with each other. I hated that I couldn't have that right now. I wanted Ross to be here more than anything because I needed him. I needed him to calm me down. I needed him to hold me and kiss me and make everything in life better.

"Ness," my dad whispered into my ear. "You need to focus right now."

"Where are we going," I said getting my head back into things.

"We are heading out going west for about 20 miles and we will stop to hunt. After we are fueled up we will then break north. Alice sees them waiting for us in a field just outside of Volterra."

"Okay," I whispered. Now I was scared. They were waiting for us.

Once we were out of the public eye and into the woods for about a mile we dropped our bags and headed towards our destination. Jacob and the pack phased into wolf form to keep up with the other vampires but they stayed behind with me. I couldn't run as fast as my parents or their friends and Jacob knew that. I was thankful to at least have my best friend beside me through all of this.

We stopped after not too long and everybody disbanded to hunt. I took off on my own and grabbed a few elk or whatever the hell they were. I worked on some of my powers on the way, ripping apart a few animals to see if I could. I hadn't even thought about working on my powers in recent weeks, even though I had a little. I had been practicing more of the hands on training then the one within in my mind because John and I had worked on that for a long time.

After I was done destroying things and I felt like I was strong enough I headed back to the meeting point so that we could all go in together. I was joined by Ann, Carrie, John, Alex and Jacob and his pack. We stood there in silence, not really knowing what to talk about. Maybe the uncomfortable silence was a good thing. Maybe it brought more tension to the situation.

**Ross' Point of View**

She had come back to me. Nessie was safe and sound and so were all the members of her family. I just couldn't believe that they all came out unscathed. I smiled at the sight of her and ran up to her in the airport. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I spun her around in circles. We totally looked like a scene out of the movies when the main characters finally decide that they were getting together.

It was pain without her there so when Nessie came back to me I couldn't have been more thrilled. I looked at her in my arms and the smile from my face was probably plastered there for all of eternity. I told her that I loved her and that I wanted to marry her. She had started to cry when I let go of her and got down on one knee in the middle of the airport. She nodded her head yes and as I slipped the ring on her finger I woke up.

I shot up on the couch and looked around puzzled. Why did that have to be a dream? I shook my head and realized I had somebody sitting on my legs.

"Finally," Annie exclaimed. "It's about time you woke up."

She was sitting on my legs with the television on Teletubbies and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She had her legs swinging back and forth in front of her.

"You've been sleeping all day. I had to make myself lunch."

"Aren't you all grown up," I stated stretching my arms above my head. "Where's Sue?"

"Not here obviously. I wouldn't be waiting for you to wake up if she was here."

"You are too mature for your age."

"I get that all the time," she said with a cute little smile on her face.

"So what do you want to do today? Do you want to go roller-skating?"

"What about rollerblading," she stated excitedly.

"Of course rollerblading. It is so much better," I exclaimed.

"Yey," she screamed getting off the couch and running upstairs. "I've gotta get dressed."

I laughed as I finally stood up and stretched completely. I went downstairs still shaking my head in amazement of Annie and trying to shake that dream out of my head. I couldn't believe that I had actually dreamed of proposing to Nessie. Oh jeez, I was too young for those kinds of thoughts. Even though Edward had given me permission, I guessed that he had no conception of time.

I got dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I grabbed a pair of socks and sneakers and brought them upstairs with me. Annie was already sitting on the couch in a pair of jeans with pink embroidery and a pink shirt to match with her little pink winter boots. Was there anything that she owned that wasn't pink?

"Just give me a few minutes Annie okay? I need to wake up first."

"I can wait," she said turning her attention back to the television with her jacket in her hands.

I made myself a few pieces of toast and made a cup of coffee before sitting at the island in the kitchen and eating. I loved toast just because it was so simple but for some reason tasted amazing. When I was finished I brushed my teeth and helped Annie put her winter coat on.

We ran outside and played in the snow for a little while. That little girl had one hell of an arm on her or maybe it was just the fact that she had hit me with an ice ball instead of a snowball. About an hour into playing in the snow I knew that we wouldn't be going anywhere and it was going to be all playing outside today.

We made a snowman and snow angels, it was actually a lot of fun. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play in the snow like I was a kid again. I hadn't done it is so long that I had forgotten how much fun it really was. It took my mind off of everything because I didn't think about anything that was going on while I was being pegged by snowballs left and right.

It started to get dark when I finally gave up and surrendered. Annie was jumping for joy as we went into the house and got out of our wet clothes. She ran upstairs to take a bath while I went downstairs to shower and get ready for dinner. I thought that I could treat her to dinner and it would be nice. I was surprised that Sue wasn't back yet but I was sure that she just got caught up with her friends.

After I had gotten dressed I went upstairs to see Annie already dressed in another outfit. She was sitting on the couch watching Teletubbies again. How many times was that damn show on television in one day? I sat down next to her and smiled.

"Are you hungry Annie?"

"I'm starving," she stated quickly.

"How about McDonalds for dinner?"

"Is there a playpen?"

"Yes."

"Will you go in with me?"

"If they let me."

"Then what are we waiting for," she asked jumping up from the couch and grabbing my hand. She literally pulled me off the couch and out the door to my car. She jumped up into her car seat and I buckled her in. Then we were off to McDonalds.

**Bella's Point of View**

Nessie had just fallen asleep on my arm when Edward turned to me. I looked at him and sighed. Of course he would want to talk about what was going to happen not just be happy with me for the last possible moments of our lives together. I sighed deeply and nodded my head.

"Okay so Alice has been searching," he whispered just loud enough for all of us to hear. "The Volturi have lost a few of their main guard in Felix and Demetri. However they have gained a few new characters. First there is Siberio, who is in a lot of ways like Felix, but he is much worse. The only thing that he is there for is to kill. It is all that he lives for. And when he came in so did his sister Grace. She is little but feisty. She has abilities, unlike her brother, and she is a tracker, like Demetri. However, her power is more powerful than his, which is hard to believe. Although she has powers, she can get very physical and we need to watch out for them."

I continued to listen as he described all of them to a tee. He couldn't figure out what the outcome of the match would be but we worked on our strategy instead of focusing on what the outcome would be. We decided that my shield would be used in order to stop attacks from the Volturi. Then anybody that could use their power at a distance would attack. Ann with her shock ability, Aedan with fire (that would be good), Benjamin with his ability to use his surroundings, Alex could possibly stop time to make our job easy, that is if he wasn't attacked and Nessie to destroy them into shreds.

I was hoping that this was going to be easy, that it would be a quick in and out and we would be done and so would the Volturi. They had never seen anything like this before. Even when we had our friends bear witness to Nessie's growth, we had never assembled a team this big or this powerful. We had a lot of friends on our side and I think that was going to work out in our favor. I smiled at the thought of pissing off Jane and Alec, but no doubt the Volturi would have been working on a way to get around me.

The plane ride wasn't as long as I would have hoped. I woke Nessie up and before I knew it we were on our way towards Volterra. It was a very short run and after we all hunted I was feeling stronger and stronger. I didn't know if it was all in my head or my body really did feel physically stronger but either one or both would work for me.

Once our group had gathered again we all looked at each other and said our goodbyes. Most were short and to the point but the goodbyes to Edward, Nessie and Jacob were the hardest for me. It was like we were all preparing to die. Edward had already given Ross permission to marry Nessie and to become a vampire if something were to happen to us. I liked that he was thinking ahead but it was also a very real possibility that we wouldn't make it and that scared me.

We started to run north and in just a few miles we would be in the field were the Volturi were waiting for us. I never wanted to see them again after our last encounter and this was the moment that I had been dreading ever since we had gotten back to Forks. I knew that the time would come when we would have to face them but I didn't want it to be so soon. I had eternity with Edward and a mere 8 years together with him was not enough to satisfy me.

The closer that we got the slower that we all ran. I held hands with Edward and Nessie as we slowly entered the big open field. Across from us stood the Volturi, black cloaks and all. They were in formation, with Aro, Caius and Marcus at the front, as though they were Gods. Behind Aro was Renata and behind her were Jane, Alec, Heidi, Corin, Grace and Siberio. The ranks behind them I did not know but I was sure I was going to be acquainted with them soon enough.

The original Cullens stood in the middle of our loose line with the wolves on either side of us. On one side was Ann, Carrie, John, Alex, Benjamin, Tia, Nahuel and his family. On the other side stood Aedan, Camden, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Kate, Garrett, Peter, Charlotte and the Romanians. I tried the best that I could to memorize where everybody was but it was hard. The far ends I couldn't remember but I immediately flexed my shield around them. The furthest from me was Zafrina, with her strange aura and all.

"Carlisle my dear friend," Aro stated with his hands raised about 100 yards away from us. "It is so good to see you again."

"Same to you old friend. I am sorry about this."

"No need to be sorry my friends but do you truly know what you are getting yourselves into."

"I believe that we do but do you Aro. I know that you think you can run around and do as you please but those days are over. It is time that you step down."

"I will never step down and neither will my people. We have earned the right to rule this world."

"That is where you are wrong Aro. You are not rulers of our world; you are supposed to be protectors. You and the rest of the Volturi are here to protect our secret but you have risked the chance of exposing us all. There are ways for us to live in peace amongst humans but you have failed to realize that. You have taken people away that are near and dear to hearts for no other reason than to provoke us."

"I will tell you that everything that we do is to keep our secret safe. You are not allowed to tell humans about whom or what we are and your new friend over there failed with that mission."

"Ann didn't tell her brother anything, he guessed, just as a lot of humans have Aro. There is no reason to take that out on an innocent human and leave his child alone."

I heard Ann hiss and Alex trying to hold her back the entire time Carlisle and Aro were having the conversion. She knew that Aro had killed her brother for no good reason but could have somehow left little Annie alive. I didn't understand how they could take somebody away from their family. That just went to prove that Volturi really did only care about themselves and that made me even more angry and upset.

As the conversation continued I could tell that the crowds of hungry vampires were getting impatient. I heard the murmurs from both groups of vampires and then I heard a gasp. I looked around at everybody only to see Ann with her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were focused as she stared across the field at the Volturi. I followed her line of focus as Aro had another vampire standing next him.

It was somebody that I hadn't ever seen before but he looked almost identical to Ann and Annie. It must have been Josh from the way that Ann was reacting. Carrie then leached onto Ann along with Alex to prevent her from going after Aro. The last thing that Josh would have wanted was his little sister being killed in front of him. However after that moment I felt attacks at my shield.

The first I knew all too well as Jane tried to penetrate through like the last time. Her attacks were stronger than they were last time but nothing was breaking through my shield today. And I meant nothing. I was going to do everything in my power to keep all of my friends and family safe. Alec's mist flew low to the ground and he couldn't even find holes in my shield. I wanted to laugh out loud at their attempts, for the second time, to penetrate my shield. There was no way in hell that was going to happen.

Before I knew it there was commotion happening all around me. At one point I saw the Volturi freeze and a few of them get dismembered in the process but other than that there were vampires flying left and right. I felt like I got stuck and my feet couldn't move. I didn't know how to react so I tried my best to avoid the vampires that were coming at me in all directions, while at the same time keeping my shield around as many people as I could.

I didn't dare to look around me to see if Jane and Alec had been destroyed because if I saw somebody that I loved in pieces in the field I would have lost all hope. I could still feel Edward and Nessie within my shield as well as Jacob and Esme. I didn't know how my shield could have disbursed from them.

All of a sudden I felt like I had been tazered. "Ann, you're on my side," I screamed fighting blindly but not in the literal sense of things.

"I didn't touch you."

I looked around for the first time and saw that the Volturi's numbers were dwindling. It looked like we were up by a few people and I could hear were shrieks and metal being shredded. It was an eerie feeling, to hear something like that. I took my shield off of everybody for a moment but when I heard people mumbling in fear I quickly put it back on.

That little Jane, I can't believe that she hadn't been destroyed yet. I tried to find her and saw her face to face with Kate. I raced over to her side and Kate and I exchanged blows with her. Jane was a little fighter that much I could tell. She had years of training on her side when it came to fighting, although she rarely had to do physical fighting.

**Renesmee's Point of View**

The second that another vampire walked up beside Aro I knew without a doubt that it was Josh. I couldn't believe that the Volturi hadn't just killed him off like they did to every other human that knew their secret. Maybe he was just there as a bargaining chip for the Volturi to actually survive this attack.

I honestly did not want to be here at this moment in time. It was like there was a dark cloud reigning over us and once the Volturi were disposed of then the dark cloud would be gone and we could be happy. I didn't pay much attention to what was going on or who started the fight but all I knew was that it started.

It seemed like things were happening all around me and I didn't know how to solve the issue. I couldn't decide what to do first but when I saw certain members of the Volturi standing back and not initiated in the fight they were my best bet. I stayed clear of my family members and stepped forward into the middle of the field as I used all of my concentration to destroy the evil vampires in front of me.

At first my power didn't seem to be working but when I concentrated more and got more frustrated I was able to tear an arm off of my adversary. Aedan helped me by lighting a fire right next to him as I continued to rip him apart. It felt like it took forever to finish him off but the fire that Aedan started was high in the sky.

I looked quickly through the field and noticed that there were smaller fires all around and a huge fire in the middle of the field, which was bigger than any of the others. I didn't know who was still alive or who was dead because I didn't want to focus on that. I heard my mother squeal and my head turned over to her direction. I ran over as fast I could to her and noticed that Kate was on the ground and Jane and my mom were fighting.

I focused my energy on Jane. I couldn't let her hurt my mom and it seemed a lot easier than I thought it would be. Trying to protect my mom brought out all of the anger and protectiveness in my body and it helped my powers. I tore off Jane's white arm and threw it into the closest fire while my mom took off her other arm. Together we were able to dismember her and through her little annoying body into the fire. There was just something about her that I just couldn't stand.

Once we finished with Jane my mother and I were joined at the hip, taking down anybody in our way. It seemed like the battle had gone forever. My mom and I took care of two more vampires together. I heard some groaning in the distance and I couldn't tell who it was coming from so I hadn't even bothered to look over. I needed to protect myself and my mom. She was the closest one to me and I knew that my dad could take care of himself. He had more practice than both of us put together. If my mother and I were together it was like one strong vampire. Between her shield and my telekinesis there was no way that we could go wrong.

We fought together, side by side, which made me feel more comfortable. It wasn't hard for me to get angry when I saw somebody trying to attack my mother and I'm sure it was easier for her when somebody was hurting me. I thought it would have been harder than this for us to get the upper hand. The Volturi had been fighting together for centuries and we had only been practicing together for a few months. Maybe with the amount of powers that we had on our side was the defining factor.

I looked over quickly and saw Alec kneeling in front of Camden, pleading with him to not kill him. What happened to Alec's abilities? Camden laughed darkly and Alec was blind. He couldn't remember what was going on as Camden and Aedan slowly ripped apart his body. I smirked at my mother and we continued to go to work.

The Romanians made quick work of Aro, he was their first target. They still had a personal vendetta against him. Aro was the main leader of the Volturi and because of the he was the first to go along with Renata. After that their focus went to Marcus and Caius. It seemed like everybody had their own personal vendettas against certain members of the Volturi.

The moment that she could Ann ran as fast as she could to her brother. He looked at her confused for a moment but when she slapped him upside the head he wrapped his arms around her. They smiled at each other and she grabbed his arm, pulling him to our side. She wanted him to fight with us and be where he belonged, not with the enemy.

I caught a glimpse of the wolves all working together to take care of a few more members of the Volturi, throwing their limbs into the biggest fire in the middle of the field. I wished that I could share a mind with somebody else but it must be annoying at times.

The only remaining vampires that had started with the Volturi were Grace and Josh.

"Don't," he yelled as somebody tried to kill her. "Please don't. She didn't choose this. She doesn't want this."

Everybody stopped watching the fire and looked over to Camden as he picked Grace up from the ground. She looked little in comparison to him but she looked up at him with a certain glee in her eyes.

"I don't want to be like this," she stated. "Please. I only went with my brother because I had nowhere else to go. I didn't know what to do by myself so I stuck with him. Please spare me and I promise I won't do anything to you guys. I will do whatever it takes."

"Even if it means feeding on animals instead," Camden all but whispered into her ear.

"I will do it if it means that I can live."

Carlisle walked over to her slowly and looked down at her small figure. She was beautiful even though she was so small. She looked to be in her late teens with light brown hair with all different colored highlights, blonde, darker brown and some taints of red. It was just below her shoulders and her bangs swept across her forehead. Her eyes were crimson red and her black cloak was lying on the ground beside her and revealed a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. She smiled wearily at our family standing there and once Carlisle put his arm around her shoulder she looked like she wanted to cry and she cried her tearless sobs.

I looked around and saw the wolves now standing in human form. The second that I saw Jacob I sprinted over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I smiled deeply as he picked me up with one arm and kissed Leah in the meantime. Being friends with him really could happen. He didn't need to be in love with me because he was married to the one person who was perfect for him and I was with somebody who was perfect for me. I smiled largely as I took the phone out of my jean pocket.

I went into the woods close to the fields and called him.

"Hello," he asked sleepily.

"Ross," I said holding back the lump in the back of my throat.

"Nessie," he yelled probably jumping up in bed. I could see him there laying in bed and probably not sleeping very well because I wasn't there and he was worried about me. Now there was nothing to be worried about. "Is it over?"

I nodded before I realized he couldn't see me. "Yes they're gone," I managed to choke out. The tears were streaming down my face and blurred my vision so I could barely see the trees that were in front of me.

"And you're okay?"

"Yes. I just wanted to call and tell you."

"You okay," he said and I could tell that he was crying too. It was still a shock to him that I was actually okay. I wanted to be there and hug him and kiss him and tell him that I loved him. I wanted to be back home and go to school where everything could be normal for me. I could be a normal teenager in high school and I could be with the one that I loved. I had the rest of eternity to spend with him and that made me happier than anybody could imagine.

I leaned against a tree and just listened as he cried on the other side of the telephone and I cried on my end. It was nice to finally let it all out. All of the fear that had been building inside of me and all of my sleepless nights worrying about my family and if they would be alright. I wanted nothing more for all of them to be okay and I knew that my mom and Jacob were. I hadn't seen my dad in a while.

"I have to go," I muttered quickly.

"I love you. Call me to pick you up."

"I will and I love you too."

I hung up my phone quickly and darted back into the field. I noticed that nobody was looking as happy as I was. I noticed a few people missing and it saddened me. I saw that everybody was standing with their mates except for Peter and Charlotte. They seemed to be missing but that must have meant that they had been killed. I wanted to cry again because Jasper looked really upset. I'm sure that in an atmosphere like this one it wasn't easy on him.

The emotions that must have been radiating off of everybody was probably putting a huge strain on his mind and body. I felt bad for Uncle Jasper in a lot of ways because of his gift. He once said that it is a gift but also a burden. He often had to leave a room with too many people because the emotions would be too strong for him. Alice had the issue of getting headaches when she was looking out for too many things at once so I guess hers could be seen as a burden too. My dad could read everybody's mind and know all of their secrets which must have been hard for him too. Where was my dad?

_Dad, _I yelled in my thoughts. _Daddy where are you? Daddy, _I continued and if my thoughts could crack or have a lump in my throat it would be so noticeable. I ran throughout the field looking for him, circling around so I wouldn't miss him. I heard my mom scream and I immediately ran to wear she was. I screamed so loud that my lungs hurt and was comforted by the arms that were all of a sudden wrapped around me. I cried deeply into his shoulder as I saw pieces of my father lying across the field.

**A/N: Okay I'm going to go and crawl into a hole.**

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**I tried my best with the battle and reviews make me update faster.**

**Ooooo....a cliffhanger. Is Edward going to be okay?**

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**I'm done talking now, just review and I'll update sooner to let you know what happens to Edward. **

**~Sabrina~**


	35. Aftermath

**A/N: I know that you all hate me right now but I am so sorry. A lot of things have come up in the last few weeks and I just wanted to say that I am sorry for leaving you so long on that kind of cliffhanger.  
It wasn't very nice of me and I would be mad at me too.  
Thank you guys for all of the reviews. 48 for the last chapter, absolutely amazing. I guess that's what happens when you try to kill Edward.  
You will find out if he is alive or not...shortly. Chapter 33, enjoy!!!**

**Bella's Point of View**

After Renesmee had run off into the forest my eyes searched for Edward. I hadn't even noticed him missing but when I came to think about it I hadn't seen him in a while. After everything that we had just been through I figured that we would have stuck together. I wasn't angry at him for not staying by my side but I was angry for letting him out of my sight.

I searched through the wreckage and asked everybody that I could if they had seen him. Nobody really gave me a straight answer and then I heard Esme let out a yell. Oh please don't let it be him. I couldn't even think as I ran to the point of her scream. I saw something that I had never wanted to see in my entire existence. He was lying there in pieces all over the ground.

The scream that escaped my mouth was so intense that it even made me jump. I didn't know what to do but before I knew it my legs collapsed from underneath me and I was on the ground sobbing at the pieces of Edward's body. I didn't even grasp what was going on around me. I couldn't see any faces or hear any voices except for the images of Edward's body in pieces floating through my head.

I felt like I was on the ground for a long time before I felt somebody lifting me off the ground. I didn't understand who it was or why they were taking me away from Edward. I had only heard myths about vampires being able to be put back together again. It didn't seem like it was humanly possible to be put back together again after everything was ripped apart.

I heard the screams and sobs of other people around me as we all looked through the field at the pieces of Edward lying there.

"Let's try," I heard Carlisle say. He looked to be as bad off as I was. Edward was Carlisle oldest friend and it must have been hard to see his son in the condition that he was in. All of a sudden everybody was set into motion. I stood were I was with my arm around Renesmee while my family moved quickly.

Everybody came back with pieces of Edward's body and laid them in place where they should have been. Slowly the pieces started to form a shape into what looked like a man. There were tiny scares were the pieces had been torn from his body but he was just as beautiful as he always was.

I lay next to him on the ground and ran my fingers through his beautiful hair. It was as unruly as always and it made me want to laugh in a way. I wanted things to be okay because even though his body was put back together again he wasn't opening his eyes. If the myths about vampires being able to put themselves back together again were true then Edward being able to live a healthy life afterwards must be true.

I put my head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent, which was coming back, which was a good sign that he was going to be okay. I didn't know how long I laid there with the eyes of my family on us and the sobs of Renesmee in my ear but eventually things started to come back. First I felt the slightest twitch of Edward's body and I sat up instantly, tilting my head towards his.

"Come on Edward, wake up please," I pleaded with him. I felt another twitch of his body and I felt like I wanted to smile. Was everything going to be okay?

"Keep saying something," Carlisle told me. "It's helping," he stated eagerly.

"Edward please wake up," I said running my fingers up and down his arm. "I need you to be here for me. I don't know if I can live without you Edward. Renesmee needs you, Esme needs you, and we all need you. Please Edward wake up."

I saw his fingers move on the arm that I was touching. I motioned for Renesmee to sit on the other side of him and do the same thing that I was.

"Daddy," she whispered trying to hold back her tears. "I need you to be here. I want you to see me grow up and get married and have kids. I want you to be a grandfather. I want you to be there to see me graduate from high school. A girl shouldn't have to live without her father. Daddy please wake up. I can't stand seeing mom like this."

"Edward wake up," I stated getting frustrated. "Stop playing around and open your eyes."

I watched as little twitches consumed his body and I was starting to be happy. I wanted to smile and throw my body on top of his. I wanted to rejoice in the fact that we hadn't lost too many people and every member of my family was okay. I needed Edward to be okay so that I could be okay.

I laid my head on his chest and was waiting for him to start moving. I felt arms encircling my body and pulling me closer. I looked up quickly and saw Edward looking down at me with a crooked smile playing across his lips.

"Love," he whispered. It sounded like it hurt him to even speak. I smiled and screeched before attacking him with my lips on his. I felt the instant spark that I had always felt between us and I couldn't believe that he was okay. I didn't have to live or try to live without him. I couldn't believe that I was with him again and that we were both okay.

Renesmee joined me hugging him lying on the ground. I felt content having Edward wrapping his arms around the both of us. Before I knew it I felt weight on top of me and realized that all of the Cullens were on top of us now. Edward chuckled before telling us to get off of him. Jasper quickly helped everybody up and extended his hand to Edward.

He looked around curiously trying to sit up on his own. It was like he was second guessing whether he could get up or not. He was trying to trust his body again, not sure how strong the bond of being a vampire was holding him together. Carlisle also extended his hand, giving Edward a reassuring smile. Edward slowly lifted both of his hands to gab Jasper's and Carlisle's. He steadied himself for a minute before they slowly helped him to his feet.

Edward looked around and I did too. Everybody that had survived was staring at him. Grace was under Camden's arm; Ann and Carrie were holding hands while their mates had their arms around them. Josh was standing behind them with his arms wrapped around his sister's neck while Aedan and Tanya were standing next to each other also holding hands. Emmett, Rose, Alice and Esme were all holding hands trying to stay close to each other and Nahuel and his family were huddled together hoping that Edward would be okay. Jacob and Leah had their arms wrapped around each other in human form as Seth, Embry and Quil looked on anxiously. Carmen, Eleazar, Kate and Garrett were all standing together too, touching each other in some kind of way.

I turned my attention back to Edward quickly, not wanting to take my eyes off of him for even one second. I don't think that I would ever take my eyes off of him again because just when I thought that everything was going good he had to go and get himself injured. He was a little bit wobbly at first but he gained his composure with help from me steadying him.

"Let's go home," he stated to me.

"We need to get you new clothes," I stated looking down at his battered clothes.

"We all should. Half of us look like we have been attacked by wolves," he joked.

"Hey," Seth shouted in our direction. We both chuckled a little bit before walking off of the field. I looked back at the battle scene from the trees and saw the fires starting to trickle down. It finally hit me that the biggest and most powerful vampire coven in the world had been overtaken. I smiled and quickly kissed Edward before we began our walk back to the airport. We didn't know how strong Edward was and we really didn't want to test it so we just took our time.

We met up with everybody else were we had stashed our bags away from the airport. We quickly got changed into clean clothes and slugged our bags over our shoulders before emerging into the airport parking lot. We joined the rest of our friends and decided to take a connecting flight to a larger airport where everybody could go their separate ways.

For the moment Aedan, Camden, Tanya, Grace, Josh, Ann, Carrie, John, Alex, Jacob, Leah, Seth, Quil, Embry and the rest of the Cullens were heading back to New York while everybody else was going their separate ways. I was upset to see Nahuel and his family go but I knew that it was time for them to be on their own. We suggested they try Forks and see where things go from there.

Once we were at the larger airport we all said our goodbyes and thanked everybody for all of the help that they had given us. I could never thank them enough for what they had done for us and a few even offered to stay in touch and become the new Volturi in a way. If there was a problem they would help us settle the problem. When did we sign up to become the new Volturi? All I wanted was to live a normal life.

The plane ride back to New York all I wanted to do was close my eyes and go to sleep but I knew that would never happen. I could never go to sleep and part of me knew I didn't want to because all I would be able to dream about was the battle that we just had.

I looked over to Renesmee and smiled as she was sleeping on Jacob's shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around Leah and Renesmee and they were all sleeping peacefully. Well Jacob was snoring loudly, as was Seth, but other than that they all looked like little angels. Ann was trying to get to Grace but she and Camden were too engrossed with each other to really notice anybody else around them.

I snuggled closer into Edward's shoulder as he kissed the top of my head and I could hear him breathe in my scent.

"I missed you," I whispered to him.

"I missed you too love," he stated sweetly. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that."

"What happened anyways?"

"I was just trying to do too many things at once. I was trying to make sure that you were okay and when I heard somebody thinking about taking you out I was distracted from whom I was fighting and I guess that's when most of the damage happened. I don't think I would have been able to let somebody hurt you the way the person was thinking about hurting you."

"Edward I can take care of myself now. I'm not a fragile little human anymore."

"I still think that you are even though I know that you can take of yourself. I still feel this pull to protect you if something or someone is trying to hurt you. I guess it's from the years when all I could do was make sure that you were protected. That doesn't just leave overnight."

"It's been 7 years Edward; you should have adjusted by now."

"I'm sorry love."

"Me too. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"You don't have to apologize for me. I didn't hear you say 'Help me' or anything but I just got distracted and that was the issue. If I hadn't been distracted then none of this would have happened."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better but I'm not quite what I used to be. At least now I can understand why Jasper feels a little self conscious about his scars." He lifted his arm up and showed me his wrist. There was a thin white scar circling his wrist from where it had been detached from his hand. I kissed it sweetly and looked up at him from under my long lashes.

"You are still more beautiful than anything I have ever seen," I said sweetly. "You couldn't be more perfect for me right now," I stated rubbing some of his scars. "These show me how much you truly love me and that's why you are beautiful to me."

Edward looked down at me with a certain glee in his eyes. He smiled a sweet smile and kissed my forehead. I loved when he did that to me because it felt so personal and so sweet when it was coming from his lips. It was so easy to kiss somebody on the lips but when they made certain gestures like kissing a forehead or the top of the head or rubbing their fingers across you face, it felt a lot more personal.

I smiled and dug my head back into his chest, content with the answers that I was given. Edward fell silent as he rested his head on me and we sat on the plane in complete silence for the rest of our trip home, where we could live happily together, forever, without anything coming between us.

**Ross' Point of View**

Once I had gotten the call from Renesmee saying that everything was okay and everybody was okay it was time for me to wake up even though it was the middle of the night. After I had gotten the phone call there was no way that I could have slept knowing that in a few short hours I would be back with Nessie.

I wanted to make sure that the house looked perfect so I went upstairs and started cleaning, starting in the kitchen. I moved quickly making sure that Esme would be happy with how clean it was. However they had a more trained eye than I did. I wanted to make their homecoming as easy as it could possibly be but I didn't know if I could ever get the house in the condition that they were used to.

After I finished cleaning it was around 7 o'clock and it would only be a matter of time before Annie and I would be heading off to the airport. I went into the kitchen and got breakfast out and started a pot of coffee for myself. For the day ahead of me I knew that I would need it. Annie came down a few minutes later and sat at the island in the kitchen.

"You're daddy is coming home," I told her once we were eating. A big smile crossed her face and she started to tear up a little bit. "What's wrong Annie?"

"Am I gonna have to leave," she asked.

"I don't know honey but I hope that you don't."

We sat in silence until we were finished our breakfast before we headed off in our own directions to get ready for the day. I went and took a shower and put on some of my nicest clothes. When I got upstairs Annie was sitting on the couch watching Teletubbies again.

"Do you watch anything else," I asked sitting down next to her.

"No," she stated.

"Why?"

"My mommy and daddy loved watching this so that's why I watch it too."

I smiled at her and turned the tv off extending my hand to the side of me. I helped her put her boots and jacket on before we headed off to my car. I strapped her into her car seat and we drove off to the airport. I didn't even know what time the flight was landing but I wanted to be there the second that they arrived.

We parked in the parking lot and I held her hand as we walked into the airport. I looked around at the arrivals and it was only 45 minutes until their plane landed, it was the only direct flight from Italy. We sat down and waited, both nervous for what would happen when they stepped off of the plane. Would they be different then they were before?

There is always the possibility that somebody would be different after coming back from a war. Our soldiers were a perfect example of that. No matter how strong you are or how strong your mindset is, war changes people both physical and mental. Sometimes the mental hurt is worse than physical because all you can see when you close your eyes are the images that you try so desperately to forget.

I think that is why my father is the way that he is. He is a war veteran and I know that it is no excuse to be the kind of man he is just because of some war that he fought it. But maybe all of the alcohol he drank was to try and forget everything that happened to him while he was in the military. It was hard for anybody to understand why my dad was that way. I still had no idea why he was like that and why he would take out his anger on his family.

I haven't talked to him since the day that he kicked me out. Most parents would at least have checked up on their kids to see if they were alright. But my dad was different. I guess he figured that I had enough friends that would be more than willing to take me in but that really wasn't the case. The only reason that I had a place to live was because Nessie's family was so open and welcoming to me. If it weren't for the Cullens I would be laying in a ditch somewhere.

I couldn't believe how much had happened to me since the beginning of the school year. I had seemingly lost of all of my friends but I had gained so many more. It might not seem like I had a lot of friends while as I was at school but the minute that I got home for school I was exactly where I should be.

School seemed like it was so far away from me because I hadn't gone in so long. We were nearing the end of our summer break but I hadn't been to school for most of December. I was afraid of how far behind I would be when I got back and how much work I was going to have to do in order to catch up. I really just should have driven slower on my way to see Nessie.

I looked up and realized that it was finally time. Annie looked up at me and I smiled at her. The last conversation I had was with Ann about 30 minutes after Nessie had called me. She told me a lot of things that happened and she wanted Annie to know that her dad and her aunt were going to be home soon.

Annie wrapped her arms around my leg as we stood and waited for the Cullens to get off of the plane. First I saw a few people that I didn't know looking a little bit uncomfortable as they exited the plane. Next I saw a guy with pale skin and dark brown hair kind of on the heavier side. He was really tall, taller than me or Edward, possibly even Emmett. But I saw a smile spread across his face and two little arms disappear from my legs. Before I knew it Annie was running across the airport and the man scooped her up into his arms. Ann was far behind and Annie reached out for her. So that must be Josh.

Before I had a chance to look at him and really see who he was I was attacked. I lost my balance and landed on the floor with weight being pressed against me. I looked up and saw these gorgeous brown eyes with tears that were threatening to pour out. I smiled and kissed her as hard as I could while I tightened my arms around her waist. I didn't care if people thought we were crazy or not because I had Nessie in my arms again and she looked completely unscaved.

"Alright you two," I heard Bella say. "We are in public."

"Sorry," we both said in unison. I kissed her again and she got off the ground extending her hand towards me. I grabbed it and I felt some of her strength as she lifted me off of the ground. I smiled again as I put her underneath my arm. I never wanted to stop touching her again.

I greeted Bella and Edward along with the rest of the Cullens. We all exchanged our greetings and then got into the cars to drive home. I kept looking over to the passenger seat as I drove to the house and marveled at Nessie's beauty. I smiled at her and noticed Edward's eyes fixed on me from the backseat.

_I need a favor _I stated to Edward in my thoughts. _Can I borrow your credit card? I want to get Nessie something. _I was pretty sure that he saw what I was thinking about but he nodded his head slightly in the review mirror. I smiled and drove back to the house. I dropped everybody off and Edward handed me his card and smiled at me. I thanked him and turned around in the driveway.

"Where are we going," Nessie asked me.

"I wanted to get you a few things." I smiled at her and she looked at me with a confused look on her face. I really wanted to tell her what we were going to do but I wanted it to be a surprise at the same time.

As we pulled up to the shop that I had been at just days earlier I saw her eyes light up. She looked at me before kissing me and jumping out of the car. I could barely catch up to her as she entered the Yamaha dealership. I watched as she looked at the bikes and she ended up getting the exact same bike as me only in white. She wanted to get pink but they didn't have any bikes that weren't for 3 year old girls.

She smiled, though, when she noticed that there was pink gear that she could wear. She got an assortment of pink, white and black gear before we checked out at the counter. Nessie couldn't stop smiling on the ride home, with all of her gear on her lap. Her bike would be delivered within the next 2 days but at least for now she could ride with me.

When we got back home she put on her helmet and I smiled at her. We headed off to the garage and we both changed into our gear before I turned the bike on. I had her get on the back and put her feet on the back pegs and hang on tight to me as I peeled out of the garage and into the woods ahead of us.

**Bella's Point of View**

"Please do not tell me that my daughter is on the back of a motorcycle," I stated to Edward glancing out the window to the woods. "It's not safe."

"She is safe with Ross love, you know that. Now would you come and sit down with me."

"I would rather stand. It really doesn't make that much of a difference."

"What's wrong," he asked walking over to me and putting his arm around my shoulder. "We are all okay and the Volturi are gone. Bella you have nothing to worry about."

"I would have to disagree with you."

"Why?"

"I worry about my daughter."

"She is responsible you know."

"Yes I do know that but she is falling really hard for Ross. I know that he is a good guy but she has only been my daughter for 7 years and now I have to give her up. I'm not ready to do that yet."

"And she's not ready to leave either love. She may look like she is 17 or 18 but in no way is her head ready to be away from her parents."

"But you told Ross that he could marry her."

"Yes someday because I am a traditionalist. I wanted him to have my blessing for the day that he does ask her to marry him and I will be behind him when he makes the decision to become a vampire. It will happen Bella but at some point we are going to have to let her go."

"I'm not ready," I stated burying my head into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his shoulder. "She's not old enough."

"Would you listen to me? She is not leaving us, not yet. Wait until they graduate, at least, to worry about any of that. We waited until after you had graduated from high school and that will give us a few more years. Let's enjoy the time that we do have with her."

He kissed me on the forehead and led me upstairs to our bedroom. It looked so different from when we left, even though nothing had changed. It was like I was looking at it with a new set of eyes after everything that we had just been through. I wanted us to be a family right now, to be able to spend time with everyone that I cared about, but instead my only daughter was off riding a dirt bike with her boyfriend. Now I knew how my father must have felt.

**A/N: So Edward is alive, Ross is realizing things about his dad, Nessie got a dirt bike and Bella is getting a taste of her own medicine in a way.**

**Bella is going to go through a lot of emotional trama in the sequel.**

**There is one more chapter of this story and I will be posting a sequel. It will pick up where this leaves off.**

**I will post on this story when the first chapter of Crimson Crescent is up. I was going to use that name for this story but a lot of you like the name of the story the way that it is.**

**I introduced a new character in Grace and she will be in the sequel, if she is not mentioned in the next chapter.**

**Please review for me. There are now a ton of you on my favorites list. I want to thank everyone who is on this list and who reviewed for last chapter.**

**I am so sorry that I didn't reply to any of them but I didn't want to give away the fact that Edward was alive.**

**I will be going on vacation next week so hopefully I can get this finished before then.**

**I am sorry if this is long but I've been absent for a few weeks so I feel the need to make up for it.**

**Please Review. You will get a sexy alive Edward dipped in chocolate sauce if you do. **


	36. Finale

**A/N: I am probably the worst author in the history of Fan Fiction. I made you wait over a month to figure out what was going to happen with our lovely characters.  
I know that this is long coming so I am going to leave you with the a huge I am SO SORRY for the wait.  
This is the final chapter of Blue Moon. Chapter 34, finally. Enjoy...**

**Renesmee's Point of View**

"Do I really have to go today mom," I asked as she sat next to Ross and I on my bed.

"Yes sweetie, it's time that we all go back to school and get back to being normal. I know that it is going to be weird to adjust to after everything that we have been through but we really need to get going. You two need to start getting dressed. We are leaving in a half an hour."

"Can you have Alice come down," I asked. "My hair just is not going to do anything today and it needs to be done…" Before I could finish Alice was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a curling iron in her hand.

"Go into the bathroom and sit. Bella you put together her outfit and Ross," she paused. "Just look halfway decent and get some food in your system. You two are driving together so be sure tot warm the car up so that you two are ready to go."

"Alright," he stated plainly. She rushed into the bathroom and I looked sympathetically at Ross. All he did was smile at me and kiss the top of my forehead.

"Would you two stop making out already and Nessie get your cute little but in here," she yelled from the bathroom. I kissed his lips quickly before I dragged myself into the bathroom. Alice all but pushed me down in the chair and brushed through my hair with such speed that I could barely keep up with her.

Before I knew it my hair was in perfect beach curls that hung so far down my back that I couldn't even see it all. I smiled and gave Alice a quick hug before going into my room. I had an outfit laid out on the bed for me. It was a pair of skinny jeans with a plain white t-shirt and a tight black sweater. My mom paired it with a pair of cute platform black boots and I smiled. Alice came over and had approved the outfit.

She went upstairs and I quickly put on my outfit for the day. I looked once in the mirror, straighten out the already perfectly ironed sweater and headed upstairs. Everybody was in the living room with different expressions on their faces. Alice was bouncing up and down on Jasper's lap, content to be where she was and was more than excited to be going back to school.

My mom and my dad were also sitting with each other dazzling into one another's eyes. It was like there was nothing else in the world except for the two of them and that is what had always surprised me about them. They didn't care who looked at them or who whispered because all they cared about was each other.

I envied them to a degree because I wished I didn't care what other people where saying but truth be told going back to school today was scaring me because of our long absence and knowing that people would be talking about us. I wondered what kind of story Ross would give them with his injury and I wondered if anybody would notice the changes in each of us. Although our changes where minor and not really noticeable to anybody else, to me they were like a big target above my head.

I had seen way too much and I felt like a monster. It was really hard to pretend that I was just like everybody else when I walked back into the school with my parents walking hand in hand in front of me and Ross. I didn't know if I would be able to be human again after doing the things that I had done and seen my father like that. Pictures of him in the state he was in just kept flying through my head, like I was watching a horror movie that wouldn't end.

Sometimes I hated my gift because although I could control it when I wasn't thinking about it or something was lying heavily in my mind I wasn't able to control it as well as I wanted to. I looked up at Ross as he stopped dead in the hallway and looked down at me. I instantly realized what I had done and tried to stop the images in my head with happier ones, like me falling over 3 times trying to kick start my dirt bike.

He instantly laughed, causing everybody to stare at us in disbelief. I wondered if anybody knew what was really going on between us. I wondered if they knew that we were living together and that he was basically a part of my family. I didn't know if they saw that part of me or if they were just looking at us as a normal high school couple. I really wished they saw us as normal because that is all that I had ever wanted to be.

Ross and I were as good as ever as I said goodbye to him with a quick kiss before I headed off to class. I watched him walk down the hallway with a little bit of a limp and I looked after him with a puzzled look on my face. I hadn't seen him limp in a little while and I was scared that he had re injured himself.

"Don't worry about him," my dad said putting his arm around my shoulders. I had jumped a little bit at the sound of his voice and I had no idea why. I felt like I was completely in my own little world. "He is just trying to make it look more believable that he was in a horrible car accident. He's pretending just as much as we are."

"Well maybe he just wants to be a part of this family that badly," I stated quietly.

"How would you feel about skipping gym to hang out with your dad," he whispered into my ear.

"I would love that right now," I breathed with a sigh of relief. Although I knew the talk with my dad would probably be more torture than going to gym I decided that I really needed to talk to him alone. We hadn't even been able to talk about all that happened in Volterra and I knew that is what he wanted to talk to me about. He must have seen the visions that we in my head from that day and so once all of the students and teachers were in class we ducked at the back door and basically ran towards the woods.

Once we were there my father put his arm around my shoulders as we lowered towards the cold rock on the edge of the forest. I knew that he wanted to be able to talk to me about what had happened but I was still afraid.

"I'm sorry," he stated quietly. "I never meant for you to see any of that. I just wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been."

"It's not your fault dad. You got attacked and there is nothing that any of us could have done to stop it. Mom and I were trying to stick together because we figured that it would be better that way but somehow we both got caught up in the moment and didn't even realize that you were in trouble. I feel horrible because I wasn't there for you."

"Don't blame yourself Nessie. You were protecting yourself and your mother and that is all that I could ever ask for. I was worried about you two the entire time because I couldn't bare the thought of losing either of you. I just wanted you to be okay."

"We aren't the ones that were……detached," I stated mildly.

"I'm feeling okay but I am still a little sore."

"Vampires can get sore," I asked.

"Well when they are torn apart and put back together again I guess the joints would take a little bit of time to heal," he said with a chuckle. I smiled but I wasn't really feeling like any of this was funny. "Too soon," he asked.

"A little," I whispered.

We sat in silence for a little while just listening to the silence of the forest. It was nice because a lot of animals, birds in particle, had migrated south and I didn't have to listen to all of their constant chirping. I smiled to myself a little bit when I realized that everything in my life at this exact moment in time was going to be okay. All of the people that I loved were okay and with the silence of the forest surrounding me I realized that I wouldn't be in this moment in time ever again.

"You know," my dad said breaking my sense of serenity. "I told Ross that he could take care of you if something happened to me."

"Why would you say that," I asked, although it did make me happy that my dad would trust Ross with that.

"I wanted to make sure that you would be okay if I weren't here with you anymore. I was trying to take care of the loose ends before I left. I told him that he could marry you too."

"Jes dad, do you really want me out of the house that soon?"

"No I want you to stay at home forever because you are my little girl and you always will be. You have been a miracle to your mother and me. I just want you to have what we have and what our family has. Sure we have made a life for ourselves were we stick together as a family but I am sure that at some point your guys will want to be on you own. I know that you will come back but when you two do go off on your own I want you to be married. It's just the way that I am accustomed to."

"Dad, I'm actually only 7 years old. Do you really think that I want to get married?"

"Nessie I see the way that you two look at each other and love is love no matter which way you look at things. I know that marriage is a strong word and I guess that you got that reaction from your mom. She was so ready to give up her mortality in order to be with me but it was like pulling teeth to get her to say yes to marrying me."

"I'm not saying that I am afraid of marriage. I want to at least wait until I am out of high school to get married. I am sure that you can understand that."

"That makes me happy in some ways I guess. Do you think that Ross will be the one that you marry?"

"Yes," I stated before he could even finish his sentence. I knew that Ross was going to be the one that I spent the rest of my life with. We had so much in common and I loved every single part of him. He was my life.

"I felt the same way as you do," my dad stated answering my thoughts.

"I really wish that I could block your thoughts like mom."

"I know that you do but at least I know what my teenage daughter is really thinking."

"So fabulous for me," I stated with a laugh. I guess it couldn't be too bad. I guess that it's a good thing that I didn't have many dirty thoughts. I don't think that he could handle it.

"No I really couldn't. I think that I would have a heart attack."

"Now I know that vampires can't have a heart attack."

We laughed a little bit and our laughter was silenced by the bell ringing in the distance. We got up and walked back towards the school. When we walked in the students were already in the hallways and we blended in as if we had been there the entire time. I could see some people staring at us but I didn't care. I didn't really care what people thought of me because there was a lot that I had been through in my short life that none of these people would ever know.

**Ross' Point of View**

It really bothered me that I only got 1 class a day with Nessie and lunch. I didn't like being by myself and since my friends all seemed to be ignoring me I felt like I was alone. I hadn't been to school in almost in a month because of my car accident and vacation. It was surreal to be back here after thinking that I had lost my love.

I smiled when I saw her at her locker. It felt like days since I had seen her but it was only a few hours. She dropped her things and ran towards me in the hallway. She jumped into my arms and almost knocked me over. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her as tight as I could. I don't know how long we stood there with her wrapped around me but the time didn't seem like it was long enough.

I never wanted her to get off of me because I really liked the position that we were in. I smiled and kissed her forehead as she slipped off of me to stand on the floor. She looked up at me and I saw a few tears in her beautiful brown eyes.

"What's wrong," I asked quietly.

"I'm just happy," she stated putting her arms around my waist and digging her head into my shoulder. I smiled as I put my arms around her again.

We walked back to her locker after a few moments and picked up her books and her bag. I didn't want to leave her but after our Spanish class and lunch it was a few more hours until I got to see her again.

When the day was done my leg was a little sore from walking around on it all day so I was happy when I got to go home and lay in bed for the rest of the day to rest it. I smiled when Nessie lay down next to me.

"So what was with your reaction at school," I asked her.

"I just wanted you to know how much I love you."

"You talked to your dad didn't you," I stated.

"How did you know?"

"Because I saw Ann and she told me that you ditched gym and I figured since it wasn't with me it was with him. You guys haven't talked since you got back really and I knew you had a lot of stuff to talk about."

"We did get to talk about a lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

"Like he told me what you guys talked about before we left and how he is feeling."

"Oh like him telling me that I could marry you and be turned into a vampire."

"He didn't tell me the second part," she said in disbelief as she sat up in bed and faced me. Was she upset? I couldn't really read her emotions and it was making me mad. "What did you say to it? Do you really want to be a vampire? What was my dad thinking without even talking to me about it first?"

"Calm down. Do you not want me to be a vampire?"

"Yes and no."

"Why?"

"No because I love it when you get cold because you don't wear the appropriate clothes and I love you eyes and how soft you are. I love that you can sleep with me at night and I love that you are breakable. But at the same time I want you to be like me because I will fell more like an equal with you. You will be the same age as I am and we won't grow old. I want you to be a real part of my family and I want you in my life. It's just the fact that I don't want you to change yet."

"Well it's not like I am going to change tomorrow. It is a lot to think about."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to be with you forever and if that means that I have to a vampire then that it what is going to take. I don't know everything about my future but what I do know is that I want to be with you."

"Aren't we too young for this? I mean we're not supposed to be this serious. We are supposed to wait."

"That is the clique but we are different. Your family is different. It's not so unheard of with your family that mates find each other so young. Look at your parents. Your mom was only 17 when she knew what she wanted and that was your dad."

"But when?"

I paused for a minute because I didn't know when I wanted to be changed. I didn't think that it was all up to me but at the same time it was going to be my life that I was sacrificing. I know that if I told my friends I knew that I wanted to marry Nessie they would all think that I was crazy. We hadn't even known each other a year yet but there was a connection that I had with her that I knew wouldn't go away.

I loved every single thing about her from her hair to her fuzzy slippers to the fact that she could look absolutely gorgeous even first thing in the morning and look like she was sparkling in every kind of way every time that she looked at me. I knew that I wanted to be with her as soon as I possibly could.

"When it won't raise suspicion," I stated. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and chuckled a little bit.

"Look you're already acting like a Cullen."

"See I know how to be stealthy."

She kissed me quickly and then we laid down in bed for a little over an hour. After we took a quick nap Nessie heard everybody upstairs talking. We moaned a little bit before dragging ourselves out of bed and going upstairs to join in the fun.

**Bella's Point of View**

We all seemed like we were just one big happy family after Ross and Renesmee joined us. Everybody had their family and friends around them and almost everybody had their mate next to them. I could finally see how perfectly we all fit in together. Even the newest additions of our family seemed like they had been there all along. Grace and Carrie seemed to be connecting along with Ann. She seemed to be like a long lost friends or family.

Jacob seemed very happy with his arm around Leah talking to Ross and Renesmee. They had made such big strides to all be friends, even with the history they all had together. Although Jake still loved Renesmee he found a way to deal with the fact that she only wanted to be friends and with his acceptance of knowing this he was able to be happy with Leah. He was a great friend to my daughter and her mate and I couldn't have been happier about it.

I was enjoying having everybody together that I was reluctant about having everybody leave. Now that Camden had found Grace and Aedan had found Tanya we were probably going to lose them. The pack, as much as they would love to be here, needed to go back to La Push. Our foreign friends had already gone home but the rest of us didn't know what we were going to do.

"I think it's time for a meeting," Carlisle spoke up above the crowd. I looked at Edward and got up off of his lap. I walked to the table in the dining room and Ross sat down with a bowl of cereal. It was the first time that I had actually seen somebody eat at that table.

Once we had all taken our seats Carlisle spoke.

"I know that everybody is thinking about what is going to happen now that the Volturi have been defeated. For a long time they have been the ones that come to the rescue when something in our world goes astray. But now that they are gone we have a hard decision to make. Our world keeps growing and at this rate we need to be careful and know what everybody is doing.

We have our lives here with all of you in school and with my job I love to help people as all of you know. I want all of you to understand that there are certain things that we are going to have to deal with in the coming months like figuring out how we are going to make everything work. For the most part we are going to go on with our normal lives.

However, when the case calls for it, we are going to need to intervene. It doesn't mean that we are going to be like the Volturi and sit in a castle for all of eternity but we do need to act like them when it comes to protecting our secret. We have most of the world covered with our friends over seas and it is our jobs to protect the United States. Vladimir and Stefan have agreed to keep a look over things, since it what they have always wanted.

I think that the wolves could cover the northwest pacific and we've got the northeast all the way down to Connecticut. The Denali's have Alaska and its surrounding regions covered but it is a manner of finding enough people to cover the rest. It is not going to be easy but we need our nomads to keep an eye out on the happenings of the south, where most of our troubles spring from. Jasper, do you have any other friends down there that could keep an eye out?"

"I've got it," Alice said. "I can see if anything is going to happen. There is no need for Jasper to have to revisit the past that he has been trying to be rid of."

"Are you really going to be able to be that perceptive," Carlisle asked her.

"Yes. I have tried many times to make sure that nothing of great significance has happened down there. I've been trying to tune my skills incase something like this ever happened because I knew that it would eventually. I don't need to see the future in order to know that the Volturi weren't going to last forever."

"If you need me to," Josh spoke up. "I could move down there with Annie."

"There is no need," Carlisle spoke. "You want your daughter to grow up as normal as possible. In order for that to happen, you need to be able to go out in the daytime to bring her to school and so forth. What would happen if she played soccer and you couldn't go and see her games?"

"I guess that is a good point. I was just trying to help out in any way that I could."

"Your job is to stay here so that you can learn our way of living. I'm not trying to force it upon you but it would be nice to have more vegetarians around. It is not going to be easy, having been a newborn with the Volturi, but it can be done."

"I'm living proof," Jasper spoke. "I dealt with many years of carnage and destruction and feeding on humans but I have done very well since I met the Cullens. I was just like you at one point."

"And you do alright with that now?"

"I do okay. I'm not going to say that it has been easy because it hasn't. But it can be done. It is just going to take the right mind-set in order to overcome the things that you have been taught."

"I've done it too bro," Ann said. "I didn't know what to think when I was turned into a vampire because I never thought that they actually existed. I knew that I was in love when I first saw Alex but it was hard to believe that I was a vampire. Once I accepted what I was and realized that I wasn't a monster it was easy to overcome what I was craving. I wanted to be civilized and I know that you do too. You have come such a far way but it will be hard. We are all here for you and you are my only brother. You can't take my little Annie away from me. I need her in my life."

"I wanted to thank you for that. For taking care of her while I was gone."

"Think of it as a thank you for naming her after me. I thought that was really touching and not something that you would ever do."

"You're welcome."

"While we are talking," Grace interrupted. "I want to thank you guys for not killing me. I know that you had every right to and I know that I was probably trying to kill you at one point but that is all that I was ever taught. I need people like you in my life."

"Camden," Aedan asked. "What is going to happen to us?"

"I don't know," he spoke quietly. "I want to stay here but I know how much Tanya means to you. If you want to go with her then I can understand that you want to make her happy. I just feel like this is the place for me."

"So are we going our separate ways then," Aedan asked solemnly.

"I guess that we are for now but it's not like we will never see each other again. Who knows, maybe the next time we see each other it will be for another great epic battle."

"Maybe," he said sadly.

It was hard to see the bond between the two of them was being broken. For so long they only had each other and nobody else to depend on. But from the day that Jasper and I had encountered them they fit seamlessly into our family. They had both found love in places that none of us thought they would. Aedan fell in love with Tanya and all of us never thought that Tanya would settle down with anybody. Then Camden found love in the mist of battle. Grace complimented him well and I was happy that the two of them were staying since Grace had become friends with all of us.

It seemed sad that this would be last time that all of us would be in a room together. Annie and Josh were staying in the main house because she already had a room decorated that way that she wanted, courtesy of Esme and there was another bedroom that Josh could sleep in. Grace would be staying with Camden, who was moving to the guest house with Ann, Carrie, John and Alex. Since Nahuel and his family had moved to Forks there was a lot of open space in our secondary home.

I pondered how well Josh would do with our family as the rest of my family spoke about what would happen. I understood the basic gist of what was going to happen and I didn't really want to listen anymore. Basically live life as normal until we were needed to clean up a mess. I looked across the table to Ross and Renesmee and if it were possible they looked more in love than I ever had. They seamlessly fit together like a puzzle and it turns out that Renesmee was turning into me more every single day.

I knew that Edward had talked to her about the possibility of marriage and Ross being changed into a vampire. It was true that she was too young to get married but I had gotten married when I was 18. I was biologically 18 though, while she was only 7 and half years old. I knew that if she wanted this there was nothing that was going to stop her. Maybe they could move into the other house to be away from her parents once they did get married.

I had to stop myself from thinking anymore because I didn't want my head to explode. I had the tendency to over think things from time to time and I didn't want to worry myself for the next few years that I was going to lose my little girl. But that also gave me those few years left with her because I knew that Ross wasn't going to be turned into a vampire tomorrow and they wouldn't be walking down the aisle instead of going to prom.

My life had changed so much in the past 7 years that it was hard to think back to where everything had started. I moved to Forks and I remember seeing Edward that first day and even then, in the back of my head, I knew that I would be sitting here many years later with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme. Who knew that my family would have grown this much? I had the pack, my best friend, Jacob and his wife Leah who announced that she was pregnant. Then we had Seth who was like a little brother to me and Quil and Embry who were just two big goofballs.

We came in counter with other vampires along the journey. I came in contact with Aedan and Camden while Jasper and I were practicing many months ago. Since they were introduced to our family and wanted to help us without even knowing who we were proved to me how wonderful they really were.

Then we met Ann, Carrie, John and Alex thanks to the Denali's. They were just like us in so many ways, making there own take on the life that we were given without even knowing that any other vampires like us existed. Ann had become one of my best friends and was also a great friend to my daughter while Carrie quickly fell into step with Alice, keeping up with any ideas that Alice may have had. John and Alex complimented the cousins well because they kept them grounded. If they hadn't saved them then there was no way that we would have gotten to know them and I wanted to thank them for that.

In the process of meeting Ann we came into contact with Josh, her older brother. Ann always had a hard time letting go of the family that she tried so hard to hang onto and her brother had always been one of her best friends. But he knew the secret so that was dangerous to him and his daughter Annie. Once Josh was kidnapped it gave us the opening that we needed.

The Volturi we always those unbeatable forces that nobody would oppose. They had arson of vampires who could destroy anybody without even a second glance. They were sadistic and didn't care about human sacrifice, as long as they kept the killing unsuspicious. It was when we finally defeated the Volturi that the last member of our family showed up.

Grace was a little spitball, about the size of Alice. She was loud and crazy and you needed to stay on her good side. She had joined the Volturi with her brother and was saved in battle by Camden. It was one of those moments when you knew that you had witnessed love at first sight. Those two were going to be happy together for a very long time and we were all going to see it first hand because they weren't going anywhere.

After an hour or so in the dining room some people started to say goodbye. It was depressing to think that I wouldn't see these people for years. I didn't want to say goodbye to anybody, to any member of my family. As large a family as I now had I didn't want to lose anybody. I was thankful that we had all made it out of battle alive.

The first to leave were the Denalis. Tanya had hated me at first but I think now that she had found somebody who she could spend the rest of her life with she wasn't so hell bent on hating me. She had even given me a hug goodbye, which was a big thing for her. I said goodbye to Aedan also and told him how proud I was of his progress and that Tanya would now help him whenever he needed it.

As they walked out the front door I knew that it was only going to get worse as the night went on. The pack was getting restless in a house full of vampires. No matter how long we went on being friends I think that they were still a little bit uncomfortable. Well not Seth or Jacob, they had come to terms with the whole mess of our lives. Leah and Jacob were both up the wall about expecting their child. I was happy that Jake had finally found his happily ever after.

As the pack was getting ready to leave they realized that one key member of their family was missing…Sue. What had happened to her? I knew that Ross said that she was visiting some friends but who would go this long without calling to make sure that her family was okay? That her son and daughter hadn't been killed in battle? We frantically wondered where she could be for hours.

Eventually Ross and Renesmee said goodnight and the pack promised that they would not be gone until after they had gone to school. Nessie had wanted a proper goodbye with Jake.

The entire night we were all sitting around the living room worried about Sue. As much as I didn't want to think of my dad I had to because once Harry had died he had helped Sue out so much and the two had gotten really close. I owed it to my dad to help in whatever way possible and we also owed the pack for doing everything that they were against, fighting along side vampires.

My phone rang in the middle of the night; it had to be around 3 in the morning. It was Nahuel.

"Bella," he stated like he was out of breathe. "Somebody's been here."

"Where?"

"In Forks. It's not a human scent and there was a note on your door."

"What does it say? Nahuel, you have to tell me."

"It says…_Dear Cullens, We know your secret. You didn't do as well hiding it as you thought you did. I know that you are wondering what could we possibly want with you. Well let's just say this. If you don't come out of hiding then your secret will be exposed. And oh, have you noticed dear Sue Clearwater is missing? We know all about her. So why don't you come home and we will settle this? Ta-ta for now. ~Mike. _Bella, what do we do? Do we leave?"

My heart fell. Mike….What did Sue have to do with this? What did we do? We just got our lives back, why did all of this have to be happening? What are we going to do?

"Get as far away as possible and as fast as possible. We will be there at the first opportunity that we have."

I hung up the phone and everybody was looking at me with questioning eyes.

"Somebody has Sue. There was a note in Forks when Nahuel and his family got there. It's not human either. It must be another group of vampires but who could possibly want to harm us? We haven't done anything to anybody."

"What did it say exactly," Edward asked.

I put my shield away from me as far as I could as I ran through the note in my head. Edward looked at me and I thought I almost saw his eyes bug out of his head.

"He's not getting revenge on us as vampires. He is getting revenge on us as humans," Edward stated. "They are finally strong enough to take us on."

"But what could the people in Forks want with us," Esme asked. "We left."

"But with a lot of problems left behind apparently. There is only one person that I could think about that would still have a vendetta against us and his name is Mike."

"Mike Newton," all of us answered at once almost in a whisper. We looked around frantically at each other not knowing what to do. Mike Newton was a vampire and he was looking for his revenge, starting with Sue and eventually he would work his way to me.

**A/N: So what do you think about Mike Newton being a vampire and looking to get his revenge on the Cullens?  
He always wanted Bella and now he is a big strong vampire just like Edward.  
How many others will be affected by Mike? Find out in the upcoming sequel Crimson Cresent due to start sometime in the near future.  
Stay tuned and set me to author alert. I will also post something here letting you know that is up.**

**So I am sad to see that my story is finally over but I feel releaved at the same time. It was a struggle at times but tonight I just got inspired. I guess being in school again has my mind on overload. I will try as hard as I can to get the sequel out but it might not be updated as often as this story sometimes was. But hey a story with this many words in less than a year is amazing.**

**Please let me know what you guys have thought about the chapter or the story in general. I want to hear from all of you because I now that there are a lot of you out there that don't review. As for everybody that has I am extremely grateful as always and I will be better with responding to them. It is hard sometimes but thank you for making me feel like that my writing matters.**

**So please do me one last favor and review, let me know what you think, what you want to happen and how well do you think I ended it? PM me too if I don't update soon. I will also be leaving messages on my profile on how everything is going. **

**Thank you all for sticking with me through all of this because it was a process of figuring out who I was as a writer and as a person. Thank you all so much and look for Crimson Crescent, coming soon to a computer screen near you.**

**I love you all and leave me with some words of encouragement. **


	37. Crimson Crescent

I just wanted to let all of you know that the first chapter of Crimson Crescent is now up. I know that it has taken a very long time for me to get this out but I have been trying to make it good and come up with enough ideas for a long enough story. I think I have found out a way to make this one very good. So why don't you go on and read the first chapter of the sequel to Blue Moon. See you over there.


	38. I'm back

I just wanted to let all of my fans know that still have Blue Moon on alert that I have posted chapter 5 of Crimson Crescent. I feel so bad that I have neglected fanfiction for so long and I feel like an ass because I have lost a lot of fans. I am so sorry to each and every one of you for postponing everything but I have my groove back.

I know where I am headed with Crimson Crescent, at least for the next 5 chapters, and I hope that you guys will re-read and learn to love it again. I want to be able to complete this sequel and be done with story but I don't want to keep putting my heart and soul and time into it if it's not going to make a difference to anybody.

I'm sounding like some kind of emo-ward right now but it's just the truth. I wanted to let all of my readers know just what is going through my mind and this is it. I love Twilight and will continue to write it but after the end of Crimson Crescent, which won't be for at least 15 chapters, it will be the end of the vampire Cullens. I find myself more interested in AH stories but I wanted to continue writing as if I was writing the end of the books. I wasn't happy with how things ended with the books and so I'm writing my own end.

I just need some type of feedback on this so I know what I can write because when I put a chapter up and get 2 reviews when I'm used to 30 it discourages me to the point where I don't feel like writing anymore. So I'm sorry if I have wasted your time but I just wanted to remind all of you that Crimson Crescent, the sequel for this story, is still up and running. It's summertime so I have more time to focus on writing and I get to stay up late, which is when I do my best writing. Which is why it is 1:30 in the morning and I am writing this.

Thank you to everyone who supported me through this story and for the kind words of encouragement that I have gotten in the past. I love my readers and I don't want you guys to think that I don't. I just felt like I needed to vent a little bit and let everyone know that I am still around. School took number one priority, which is why I ended up getting a 3.5 GPA and made Dean's list, as well as getting my associates degree. I will be going back to school in the fall but I am hoping that I have both of my current stories finished by that time. I will post more when I know more. Thank you again and I love you all.

Love,

~Sabrina~


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